


Grandfatherly Love

by LinkCat



Series: Born Gray [3]
Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020)
Genre: Awkward Tension, F/M, Family Bonding, Fishing, Graduation, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Iaso, M/M, Marriage, Ocean, Protectiveness, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Surfing, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:21:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29276115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat
Summary: As Princess Leaf approaches adulthood, King Branch experiences the joys of becoming a grandpa.
Relationships: Biggie/DJ Suki, Branch/Queen Poppy (Trolls)
Series: Born Gray [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063172
Comments: 15
Kudos: 22





	1. Love Dove

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 3 of “Born Gray.” Sorry for any mistakes I make. I hope you enjoy it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Branch explains the day he realizes Princess Leaf found her future king.

Three years after the large family photo, our family gathered for a new reason. My eldest daughter was graduating from high school. Leaf was no longer a baby and had been living on her own for a few months. It was so hard to wake up in the morning, and not see her at home, helping with breakfast and her siblings. What was even harder to imagine, was that my first set of twins were not far behind her. Oak and Maple were only a year away from their own graduations. My babies were growing up so quickly. I wasn’t ready for it.

Once we were all gathered, I couldn’t help but notice that Leaf wasn’t at the graduation ceremony, yet. Concerned that it would begin without her, I headed towards her home. I knocked on her door and smiled when I heard her rush to the door. I noticed that one of her friends was over at her home. I wondered what they were up to. Something had obviously distracted them. I smiled at my daughter, when she answered her door.

“Sorry dad, I lost track of the time.” Leaf explained herself, as she rushed to finish getting ready. I followed her inside and looked over at her friend. The hair on the back of my neck raised when I saw him. He had lipstick kiss marks all over his neck, cheek, and lips. I now knew why she was running late. She was making out with him.

“Minnow…” I sounded stern, as I walked towards the young troll. I looked at him with a look that was probably horrifying for the young adult. I watched him as he shrank away from me. The nineteen year old dark blue troll, looked at me with worried magenta colored eyes. He got to his feet, and backed towards the wall. He was significantly taller than I was. He was Biggie and DJ Suki’s oldest son, and had his father’s taller height, but was much thinner than his father. He had curly light orange hair that was pressed into dreadlocks, much like DJ Suki did with her own hair. He reminded me a lot of Biggie, personality wise, but shared his mother’s love for music.

“Where are you going?! We need to have a chat.” I told him, as I walked over to him. I cornered him, and then pushed him by his shoulders into the wall. “Kissing my daughter, are you?!” I winced as he screamed in horror. I tried not to laugh. It was clear Minnow was scared that I would kill him. Little did he know, I did approve of him. I just had to make it clear that he was obligated to take care of not only my daughter, but the entire colony as well. I wanted him to take me seriously.

“Sorry, your majesty! I should have talked to you first! We were just kissing! I swear I would never hurt her!” I watched Minnow’s face. It was clear that he was serious about never hurting Leaf. I glared at him, as I moved closer to him. I had to stand on my toes, in an attempt to get closer to his face. I was too short to get close to his face.

“That’s good. I want her safe. Now that you show interest enough to kiss her, I want to make sure you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into. She’s my baby. I was there the day she was born. She loved me first, young man. I will protect her until the day I die. You’re not to break her heart, you’re to make her happy, and you’re going to be a good example to our colony. When she turns twenty one, you’re both going to be in charge of this entire colony. You’re going to take over my job, and you’re going to oversee everything Poppy and I do now. Are you up to this challenge?!” I watched him squirm. Minnow was a sweet young male, but I had to make sure he was up to all this responsibility. I had a daughter and colony to protect. I looked over, when I noticed that Leaf was next to us. She looked amused. She knew me and wasn’t worried at all. It was almost as if she expected I would give her boyfriend a hard time. She understood that I was protective of her.

“Yes, sire. I know what I got myself into. I’ll take good care of her and the colony. I’m willing to learn and take all the advice you and Poppy give me.” Minnow’s voice sounded nervous. I didn’t blame him, considering he was being pinned to a wall by the colony’s king. He had a right to be concerned. I was protective of everyone, including him. I was no troll to mess with.

“Good boy…” I told him, before easing off him. I gave his back a few pats, before turning to Leaf. I smiled at her and gave her a hug. “I approve, so long as he makes you happy.” I looked into her beautiful light blue and orange dual colored eyes. All I had ever wanted for her since the day she was born was for her to be happy.

“He makes me very happy, daddy.” Leaf reassured me, as she hugged me. I smiled at her, before nudging them both towards the ceremony. “We’ve got to get going. We’re going to miss your graduation, if we stand here too much longer.” I grabbed Minnow one last time and cleaned his face of lipstick. I wanted him to look sharp for pictures. Leaf had a big day ahead of her and was likely going to want him in her pictures.

Once we were outside, I watched as Minnow took Leaf’s hand. My heart began to beat hard in my chest, as I watched them walk towards the ceremony. My firstborn had a boyfriend. A male she obviously loved with all her heart and soul. I was so happy for her. Especially after being so heartbroken from losing Jasper four years earlier. I looked forward to training Minnow, and watching their own family as it grew. It seemed my eldest had sights on a bright future.


	2. Ocean With A View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the ocean gives Branch’s family a chance to collect seafood and have a little bit of fun.

That summer, I decided our family was due for a summer trip. This time, since Minnow was now becoming part of our family, I decided to invite Biggie and DJ Suki’s family to come along with us. It was a bit of a trip and it would mean that Poppy and I wouldn’t be at home to watch the colony for a month, however, I decided that Basil and Rose would be able to take charge and handle the colony while we were gone. We rarely got to take a vacation away from the hard work of making sure the colony was safe, so it was a chance for us to have a little bit of fun. Basil had agreed to do it, so long as I brought back clams for him and promised to watch his kids when I got back, so he could go have his own camping trip with Rose.

Once everyone was gathered in front of our home, I led our two families towards the ocean. Biggie had the oldest child, Minnow, while Poppy and I had the youngest, Pine and Spruce, who were four years old. Between the two families, there were nineteen of us in the group. Biggie had two other children, other than Minnow. A fourteen year old daughter named Melody, who was violet with orange colored hair, and a ten year old son named Trout, who was magenta with light green hair. Melody and Trout didn’t have Biggie’s gigantism. Minnow was the only one who got that gene. He was nearly as tall as his father and still appeared to be growing, which was typical of the rare genetic trait. His name was ironic to me. The tallest of their children was named after tiny fish. It had a meaning though. Minnow was born prematurely and was actually very tiny when he was born. He definitely outgrew his name.

It took a few days for us to reach the ocean. Once we arrived I began setting up a camp. This would be our temporary home for the next three weeks, so with the help from the children, we made three flower pods. One for food storage, one for Biggie and DJ Suki’s family, and one for our family. Leaf complained that she wanted her own flower pod, however, she changed her mind about it, when I told her I wouldn’t give her a surprise present if she didn’t spend some time with her family for a few weeks.

After camp was set up, I pulled out a large box from out of the supplies. I gave it to Leaf and smiled at her, when she gave me a questioning look. As she unwrapped the box, and opened it, I couldn’t help but laugh. She was starting to squeal with excitement. She had talked for years that she wanted to learn how to surf. I had done it a few times in my youth. It wasn’t easy, however, if she wanted to try it, I was willing to teach her what I knew.

“Thank you, dad!” Leaf smothered me with kisses, before taking her body board over to Minnow. She showed it to him and pointed towards the water. As she showed her body board off, I pulled my own old board out, and walked over to them. “Let’s get over to the water, while the tide is low. Those waves become deadly if the waves are too rough and high.” I told them, before heading towards the beach.

Our families followed me, as I headed for the water. Once at the beach, I carefully tread the water, and then fought with the first set of calm waves. It wasn’t an easy task to accomplish, since they were large compared to our bodies, however, it could have been a lot more dangerous if storms were coming, or if the tide was out. Once I was far enough out to enjoy the water, I prepared for a wave, and then rode along it. I carefully stood up and steadied myself. I rode the wave for several feet, before the wave crashed, causing me to fall into the water. I resurfaced moments later and let out a holler of excitement. That was always a lot of fun, and the fresh salt water was so refreshing.

“Branch!” I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned around and grinned when I saw an old friend of mine. King Trollex was often at the edge of the ocean, looking for fresh clams for his colony. I swam over to him and kept myself afloat with my body board. “How are you doing, King Trollex?” I inquired to him with a smile.

“I’m doing great! Wow! Is that Princess Leaf? She has gotten so big!” King Trollex asked me, before waving to my family, who were all playing and chatting on the sand. “She turned eighteen this winter. She just graduated from high school and has a boyfriend. Do you remember Minnow?” I asked him.

“You mean Shark? Yeah I remember him. Shark! Hi buddy!” King Trollex called over to Minnow, before waving at him. I thought it was funny that King Trollex gave Minnow that nickname. Minnow was far too sweet to be considered a shark. “So, Branch, how’s your family? I see you’ve got a couple more kids since I saw you last. Kiwi looks great!”

“Yeah, we had another set of twins. The indigo colored boy is Spruce, and the light teal one is Pine.” I introduced King Trollex to my youngest boys. I didn’t even realize it had been that long since he had seen my family. “I guess it’s been about six years since I’ve had time to make it down this way. We’ve been so busy. How has your family been?” I asked him curiously.

“Queen Coral and I are doing great. She had another baby this winter. Our kids are getting big too. They’re all at home. I was making sure everyone got home safely. I can sense the changing weather. There will be a storm in three nights. You won’t want to surf after this afternoon, until the storm passes. The seas will be too rough. I can help you collect food today, to help you get through the storm.” King Trollex offered me. I thought it was incredibly sweet. He was always so willing to help us when we came out to visit. I was also curious about his new baby and its name. I would ask later, since he appeared to be busy.

“Only if you want to, King Trollex. You’re busy enough, without having to worry about us Pop Trolls.” I told him, before giving him a hug. “I’ll let Poppy, Biggie, and DJ Suki know we will need to hunker down for a few nights. It’ll be a good chance for us to tell stories and share recipes for seafood.” I smiled at him. It was so nice to see him. I had been thinking about him often. Especially when rough storms came by. It wasn’t easy for his family, just like it wasn’t easy for us.

“I want to.” King Trollex smiled at me, before diving down into the water. I took that as an indication to get busy. Once he was out of sight, I headed for the shore and let Poppy know that storms were coming in a few days. We would be safer on dry land, until after the storm passed. She had no problem with that and understood the safety concerns. She seemed to understand my protective streak more than she did when we were little. We had children to protect. I just hoped that our children would behave too. I didn’t want any of them to drown or get eaten by sharks. The sharks came to the shores during bad weather.

After a little more surfing, we gathered up the clams that King Trollex gave us and headed back to camp. I looked forward to spending time with the new family, even if we had to ride out a big storm in the process. I watched as Leaf and Minnow talked to each other. They were the biggest reason I took this trip. I wanted them to have a chance to bond. I hoped that their bond only got stronger, now that they had weeks to enjoy each other.


	3. A New Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch is about to become a father to another son.

For two weeks, while we were at the vacation homes, our families continued to bond and enjoy the great weather. After the first large storm, the water had been smoother. Our family spent most of the day at the beach, surfing, making sand castles, fishing, and looking for seashells. We also got to visit with King Trollex and his family. It was sad that it was all going to end in a week. I wasn’t ready for our vacation to end. It had been so nice to only have to worry about my family, instead of the entire colony. I hoped everyone was alright. It was always hard to get away. Oak and I weren’t there to heal anyone who got sick or injured.

During one night, I had overheard Leaf and Minnow talk, away from the campfire. I was pleased to hear him silently propose to her, using a small pearl that he had found a few days earlier. Leaf accepted his proposal. A smile spread over my face as I listened to them for a few minutes. That smile, turned into a frown, when I overheard Minnow ask if they could go have some privacy. I overheard Leaf tell him she couldn’t mate before marriage, and that sneaking off would be a bad idea. My daughter was smart, and although that may not have been what Minnow wanted to do, she had made the right decision. It was dangerous at night to sneak off. I didn’t want them to get hurt.

That night, I laid in my sleeping bag and thought about what I had heard and sensed. Leaf seemed upset that she would have to wait to get married to enjoy herself. I understood it. I was there when I was her age. Poppy and I had almost done the deed, before getting married too, but I stopped any advancements, in fear of getting in trouble with King Peppy and Queen Lily. As I drifted off to sleep, I decided I would marry them, if they wanted to, the following day, after I talked to Poppy.

The next morning, after we had breakfast, I took Poppy aside and told her my idea, about marrying our daughter and future son in law. She was all for the idea, and suggested we approach them right away. She told me she had a feeling our kids were getting excited about being together. She remembered how hard it was to wait. We agreed that a formal wedding would come when we got home, so that our families and colony could have a chance at watching the royal couple wed.

We walked over to Leaf and Minnow, and took them aside. They both looked worried, as we led them away. “Mom and dad, we didn’t mate last night. He only engaged me and we kissed for a little while.” Leaf sounded like she thought she was in trouble. I understood the concern, however, she had nothing to worry about. We went into the food storage pod with them, and then faced them.

“Leaf? Minnow? We understand that it’s hard to wait for marriage. You both appear to be ready and I want to elope you, today, if you want to. We can have a formal wedding, when we return home.” I offered the young couple. I had my concerns about them mating this young, but I had a bad feeling that if we waited much longer, they would do it anyway.

“You would do that for us? I accept!” Leaf told us, before looking up at her fiance. I smiled at him and winked at him, to try and encourage him. He looked very nervous. “Sounds good, to me.” He whispered, before pulling Leaf closer to him. I watched them kiss each other, before looking at Poppy with a huge smile on my face. Our oldest baby was going to get married. I had mixed feelings, however, Leaf was happy and that was what mattered to me.

That afternoon, after making arrangements at the beach, in a cove, Leaf and Minnow stood in front of the ocean, dressed in the most formal outfit they could find in their suitcases. King Trollex, Queen Coral, their family, and colony watched from the water’s edge, as I walked Leaf towards Minnow. Biggie and DJ Suki stood by their son, as we walked towards them. Poppy was playing a soft song on her ukelele, and our quadruplets; Ash, Sycamore, Willow, and Cherry sang a traditional troll wedding march song. I heard some clicking from a camera. I looked over and saw that Melody was taking pictures for us. I was so glad she was. I wanted lots of pictures of this special day.

Once I approached Minnow, with Leaf by my side, I let her go and nudged her towards him. “On this day, I give you my firstborn child. A gift that I wouldn’t give to just anyone. Protect her and love her. Give her the life you both dream about and take care of any children that come from her. She’s yours to keep and cherish. I trust you, with her.” I smiled at them, before taking their hands and having them hold each other's hands.

“Minnow, do you take Princess Leaf, to have and to hold, through sickness and health, until death departs you?” I asked Minnow, with a stern look on my face. I was still serious about him taking care of my daughter. I didn’t want him to be foolish or chicken out and leave her.

“I do, your majesty. She’ll be protected and loved until we’re departed.” Minnow looked nervous. I watched as Leaf squeezed his hand. I remembered being nervous too. I completely understood. I looked at Leaf and smiled at her. “Princess Leaf, do you take Minnow, to have and to hold, through sickness and health, until death departs you?”

“Of course…” Leaf said, before giving Minnow an adoring look. It was so nice to see her so happy. I cleared my throat and looked between them. “Then, by the power invested by me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” I watched as Minnow crouched and gave my daughter a kiss. I now had a new son. A boy, who was married to my oldest child. I was so glad it was him.

“I’m proud to introduce to you, Prince Minnow and Princess Leaf!” I declared happily. I smiled, as everyone who had gathered for the marriage cheered with joy. It was far from traditional, however, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I had ever witnessed, not only in this life, but in my previous life as Iaso as well.

I watched as Poppy walked over to me. I gave her a kiss, before looking into her magenta colored eyes. “Our daughter is married.” I was excited and nervous for them. I could feel that I was shaking and that my hands were sweaty. “She sure is. The next generation of royalty will probably not be that far off now. Our colony’s future has a bright start. I’m so glad she chose Minnow.” Poppy told me with a grin. I agreed with her. It seemed our colony would be in good hands.


	4. That Was Fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch realizes quickly just how fertile his daughter and son in law are.

I didn’t see Leaf and Minnow much, for the rest of the week, while we were on vacation. I resisted the urge to bother them, knowing they were likely taking full advantage of the fact that they were married. I knew where they were, and could sense that they were happy and safe. That was all I needed to know of the situation. I had a feeling if I looked for them, I would see more than I wanted to see.

When our vacation came to an end, we packed up our camp and headed home. The pace was a little slower, mostly because Leaf and Minnow were dragging their feet. I could hear a lot of giggling and squeaking from my daughter. I had to walk back more than once and remind them that it would be safer to play once we got home. Minnow seemed a lot more relaxed, now that he was married to Leaf. I had a feeling he realized I wasn’t going to kill him. I remembered feeling that same confidence, after getting married to Poppy.

Shortly after we got home, a formal wedding was arranged, so that our entire family and all of our friends could see Leaf and Minnow married. I didn’t think it matched that beach wedding, however, it was nice to see everyone gathered and celebrating the occasion. It had been nineteen years since the last royal wedding. We all partied for hours afterwards, to celebrate the union of two young trolls.

About a week after the wedding, I noticed the magic of two young trolls loving upon each other had done a wonderful thing. Deep within the inside of my eldest daughter was not one, but two new and very precious souls. She was pregnant with her first children. A set of twins, that would be my first grandchildren. I knew I had to tell Poppy, however, I told her we should wait for them to find out on their own. Finding out you’re pregnant was so incredibly special. We wanted her to share that she was pregnant, on her terms. Oak was asked to keep it secret too.

A couple of weeks after I realized that Leaf was pregnant, I was on my way towards their house. I could sense that she was very sick to her stomach. I wasn’t entirely surprised, considering she was early on in her pregnancy. Poppy had managed to not have morning sickness when she was pregnant with Leaf, but she had it with every pregnancy after. I had also endured morning sickness, when I was pregnant with her younger brother and sister. I had some medicine and herbs on hand, knowing she was likely going to need them. Once at their home, I knocked on their door.

When Minnow answered the door, I could see that he was panicked. “She’s this way. Oh god, I hope it’s not food poisoning. She loved dinner, but it’s not settling well with her.” I resisted the urge to laugh. Minnow was just as good of a cook as Biggie was. I had a feeling this had nothing to do with his delicious food. He led me towards the bathroom, where I found my daughter, hugging their toilet. I walked over to her and rubbed her back soothingly. “Not feeling good, are you sweetheart?”

“No…” Leaf glanced up at me, before quickly turning her head to the toilet. She gagged several times, before settling down again. It appeared her stomach was empty. “Let’s start with some anti-nausea medicine, under your tongue. After you feel a little better, we can make you some mint tea.” I took a bottle out of my hair, and gave a pill to her, under her tongue. I gave the rest to Minnow and told him how often she could have it. I also gave him the mint tea.

“Can’t you heal it away, dad?” Leaf asked, before she got up and went to wash her hands. I cracked a smile and shook my head. “No, sweetheart. I can’t heal everything. You know that.” I watched as her face changed. Her mind was turning. I suddenly picked up on a lot of excitement from her, before she even started squealing.

“I’m pregnant! I knew it! How many do I have in me papa?!” Leaf asked me as she hugged into me. I was happy to see that she was excited, because I was very nervous. My father, Thyme, was her age, when he died in childbirth. I was scared for her, but I also knew she was safer than my father had been when he was pregnant. The colony wouldn’t let her or her babies die, without a huge fight.

“You’re carrying twins.” I told her. I startled, when I heard a loud thud. I turned around and saw that Minnow had fainted. I suspected that news was more than what he was ready for. I didn’t blame him for being shocked. They had only been married for a month. They had to have conceived within a day or so of their marriage. Add on to the fact she was having twins, and it was definitely shocking news.

“Oh no, Minnow!” Leaf sounded worried, as she rushed to his side. She sat next to his head and held him. I watched her run her hand through his dreads. I knelt down and healed a bruise and scraped elbow, so he didn’t have to feel sore when he woke up. “It’s very nerve wracking, finding out that your wife is pregnant with twins. I felt pretty faint the first time I found out your mom was pregnant. I was excited and nervous at the same time.” I explained to her. I watched as Minnow began to come around.

“I’m sorry…” Minnow whispered softly to us. I smiled at him and patted his shoulder gently. “It’s alright, Minnow. I understand those feelings more than you know. Why don’t you two get some rest tonight, and spread the news around when you’re ready. Our family and friends will be so excited. The new generation for the royal family is on their way. It’s very exciting news.” I got up and helped Minnow to his feet.

“Sounds good, dad. Thank you for coming over and giving me the medicine and tea.” Leaf gave me a hug. I held her for several minutes. I looked up when Minnow joined our hug. I couldn’t help but feel excited for them. I still had my concerns, however, I knew Minnow would be a good father. I knew he would take good care of Leaf and make sure she got what she needed while she was pregnant. I looked forward to seeing my grandchildren in about five months. The thought had me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.


	5. Mourning Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch helps Leaf come to terms with another life that she misses very much.

For the next three months, Leaf was pampered and prepared for the arrival of her twins. There was still no way of knowing what the genders would be, so gifts from Poppy and I were mostly gender neutral. I gave them a few dresses, just in case there was a girl or two in there. Poppy thought Leaf was having boys, since they seemed strong and were already kicking hard inside our daughter. She made sure she got a few little blue outfits, just in case. I thought it was cute that she was so sure they were boys. Regardless of what gender they were, we all just hoped that the babies would be healthy. The firstborn would one day be a king or queen. We wanted the best for them.

On what would have been Jasper’s twentieth birthday, I sensed that Leaf and Minnow were both in distress. I quickly made my way towards their home, fearing that Leaf may be bleeding or showing other signs of a miscarriage. It would certainly explain their sudden despair. If I got to Leaf in time, I could stop it, so long as her waters hadn’t broken yet.

Once at their home, I let myself in, and saw that they were holding each other on their couch. Minnow had his back to the couch, and was holding Leaf, facing him, snuggled to his chest. They were both crying. I walked closer and put my hand on her back. I didn’t sense anything wrong with the twins, other than the fact that they seemed alarmed by their mother’s sudden outburst. I sighed in relief, before sitting next to them. “What’s going on? You both look very upset.”

“We miss Jasper.” Minnow whispered, as he held his wife closely. I cringed as Leaf began crying harder into his chest. My heart broke, seeing her this upset. It was the first time in a few years that I had seen her this visibly upset over Jasper’s death. It had been four and a half years since he had drowned.

“I was going to have his baby first. I was so excited about being with Minnow, that I forgot my plan. Now the future heir won’t be his baby!” Leaf’s outburst only made my heart ache more. If I had known, I would have said something. I reached over and rubbed her back gently. “It’s going to be alright, Leaf. Jasper would have wanted you to be happy. Minnow makes you so happy. I think that was all he would have ever wanted for you.” I tried to reassure her.

“She loved Jasper first. He should have had the first baby. He was my best friend. I feel like I failed him.” Minnow sniffled, as he looked down at his grieving wife. It was true, Minnow was very close to Jasper. They did a lot of things together. I was grateful that Minnow hadn’t drowned at the river too. They had been out together when the flash flood happened. Minnow had escaped the rapids in time. I was certain he had survivor's guilt.

“You haven’t failed him. You both were very special to him. I’m sure he would understand that you both have fallen in love with each other and wanted to have a family together.” I told them, as I tried to think of how I could make them feel better. “You know, his sperm is still frozen in the medical pod. When you’re ready, Leaf, I can defrost some and implant them into you. I’m sure Jasper’s parents would love to have a grandchild. It’s not too late.” I once again reassured them. I was so worried about all this stress they were giving each other. It wasn’t good for the twins.

Leaf looked at me with sad dual colored eyes. She let out a sniffle and nodded at my suggestion. She looked up at Minnow. I think she was seeking his approval. They seemed to have a way of communicating silently. I thought it was very sweet. “I want to give them grandchildren.” She whispered to us. I was certain Minnow would approve. He was all about making Leaf happy.

“Leaf? I want to help. I could carry his children too…” Minnow whispered to her softly. I had a feeling he was struggling seeing her this upset. She wouldn’t be able to carry any babies at this time, due to already being pregnant with Minnow’s babies. It would be at least four months, before she would even be able to safely try to have Jasper’s baby.

“You would do that for me?” Leaf cracked a smile when he nodded. I smiled at them, and nodded in approval. “We can implant Minnow, if that’s what you both want. You’ll probably want to wait a little while, so that you don’t have morning sickness around the time Leaf is due to have the twins.” I suggested, to try and save them the trouble of having both of them being inconvenienced.

“No, I want to do it right away. I’ll take the medicine if morning sickness comes. I want to make Leaf happy.” Minnow told me boldly. I thought it was very sweet that he was willing to go through the trouble of childbirth. I wondered if he knew what he was getting himself into. He had never gone through the pain of childbirth, nor did he have any experience with child rearing. If they did this, and it was successful, they were going to be very busy soon.

“Alright, we can give this a try. Since we only have a few shots with his sperm, we’re going to have to give you a hormonal injection to increase the chances of conception. You might have more than one baby. It could be two, three, or even six or seven babies at once. Are you two sure you want to go through with this? You’re going to have twins in two months.” I warned them. “We can help you out, but this is going to be a lot of responsibility, all at once.” I had my concerns, but they were both adults and were able to make their own decisions.

Minnow nodded to me, and then looked down at Leaf. “With Leaf by my side, I think I can do anything.” He sounded so confident now. He had no idea how hard it was going to be for a while, but if this is what they wanted, I would help them. I smiled when Leaf reached up and kissed him. It seemed she was feeling better too. “Let’s go get you to the medical pod, so we can start the process.” I got up and helped Leaf off his lap. I watched as they headed for the door. I sighed in relief, seeing that they had both relaxed, as if a huge weight had been lifted from both of them. I had hoped that this would give them peace. I thought it was incredibly heartwarming that they were letting Jasper’s legacy live on. It was very admirable.


	6. Call Me Grandpa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch is excited to meet his first grandchildren.

Artificially inseminating Minnow was surprisingly successful on the first try. I was more than a little impressed. The now twenty year old troll had conceived more than I had anticipated. With his first attempt, five tiny trollings resulted. I now had five more grandchildren on the way. I was worried for them, but I knew that with bedrest near the end of his pregnancy, he would likely make it far enough along for the trollings to survive. Rose was testament to the determination of our village, to make sure a large pregnancy made it to a survivable age.

As my thirty ninth birthday approached, I wondered if the twins would share their grandpa, mom, aunts, and uncle’s birthday. It was a running joke that our family was determined to celebrate their birthdays together. It was almost like it was a family tradition. Of all of our kids, the only three that didn’t share either my birthday or Poppy’s birthday, was Aspen, Pine, and Spruce.

Leaf arrived at the birthday party, as planned. She was now due at any time to have her twins. She was high spirited, despite the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable and ready for her twins to arrive. I remembered being that uncomfortable eighteen years earlier, when Maple and Oak were preparing for their own arrivals. 

It was hard to believe my first set of twins were now ready to move out on their own. I wasn’t ready for it. Especially for Maple. She was deaf, which meant she wouldn’t be as safe as Oak. I had a little cuddle pup I was going to give her for her birthday, so that she could alert her if something was dangerous, or if someone was knocking on her door. I hoped she would like her. We had always had pets, and she always seemed to love the cuddle pups. I didn’t much care for them, since they got so huge, and looked so mean when they grew up, but they were great protectors.

Once it was time to open presents, I presented the young cuddle pup to Maple, who immediately took to her. I taught her the tricks I had already taught her pup, and asked her what she planned to name her. She told me she wanted to name her Star. I thought it was a good name.

While helping Maple, I felt Minnow tug on my shirt. He whispered to me that Leaf’s waters had broken and had had a few strong contractions. It appeared that her children would be sharing our birthday after all. I told him to head for the medical pod. I reassured him I would escort her there, since he was a fainter. I didn’t want him fainting while carrying her. Besides he wasn’t supposed to be lifting anything more than he had to, due to his own pregnancy.

I watched him walk over to Leaf and talk to her, before heading for the door. I quickly told Poppy that Leaf was going into labor. Once she was aware, I walked over to our daughter and gently picked her up. “I’ve got you, mama.” I smiled when she glared at me. I had seen that look several times. She had a temper that was similar to mine. I didn’t think she was scary though.

“I could have walked to the medical pod, dad.” She complained to me, as I carried her out the door. I headed straight for the medical pod. “I know you could have, however, I know how much labor hurts. I’m just helping you.” Once inside the medical pod, I settled her down in a bed, and helped the medical pod staff get ready for the arrival of her twins.

Once I was back at Leaf’s side, I noticed that Minnow had a hold of her hand. I could sense that he was scared and nervous. I remembered feeling that way when Leaf was born. I smiled at them, and began to back away. “Alright, I’m going to give you both privacy. I won’t be far. Let me know if you need me.” I left them, so that they could endure this together. I didn’t want to intrude on my daughter’s privacy. This was a very special time in her life. She didn’t need me in her face.

“Stay close dad.” Leaf sounded nervous, when I left. I could sense that she was also a little scared. I didn’t blame her. She had never been through this before. It was a lot for her and she had a lot bearing on her shoulders. She was about to have two babies. She was going to need her strength. It was going to be a lot of work.

For the next six hours, I paced anxiously nearby. It was just about midnight, so the thought that the babies would share our birthdays was starting to fade with the time. I cringed, hearing her scream in pain. She wasn’t tolerating the pain as well as Poppy did. I didn’t take pain well either. Especially the pain of childbirth. It was one of the worst pains I had ever endured in my life. Falling out of the tree had been bad too, but healing myself after childbirth hadn’t been easy. I had lost so much energy having Maple and Oak. I did most of my healing naturally.

“I want my mama and papa! Get out of my face, Minnow! You did this to me!” I heard her yell. I made my way towards her and saw that Minnow had shrunk away. That poor young father was probably scared that she was mad at him. “Don’t worry Minnow. It’s the pain talking.” I reassured him, as I walked over and took his place. I healed her as much as I could of the pain. Some of the tension left her face. I was glad I was able to help her. 

“Deep breaths Leaf. It won’t be much longer.” Mercy had prepared for the twins, and was waiting for the first twin to arrive. I watched as she reached towards Leaf’s nether region. “I’m checking to see if you’re ready to push.” Mercy told her, before checking. “The first baby is ready. Push young mama. I know you can do it.”

I looked up at Poppy, who was watching beside Mercy. I saw a twinkle in her eyes, as she watched our daughter push. The first of our grandbabies was coming. I felt Leaf squeeze my hand tightly. “Good job, Leaf. Push, baby girl. You’re almost there.” I encouraged her. I watched as Mercy caught the first baby. She placed the newborn boy on Leaf’s chest and began cleaning him up. 

“It’s a baby boy!” I declared, as loud as I could, so that Biggie and DJ Suki could hear it nearby. I smiled as the newborn began letting out loud and healthy cries. He was dark blue like his father, with royal blue hair. I frowned when I heard Minnow fall out of his chair. I looked back and saw that he had fainted. I sighed in relief when a nurse moved to take care of him. I wasn’t entirely surprised that he had fainted, since he seemed to do that when he saw blood or was extremely surprised.

“We had a boy…” Leaf breathed hard, as she held her son closely. I saw her look over at Minnow. A whimper escaped her throat. “He’s alright, Leaf. You need to focus on pushing your second baby out.” Mercy encouraged her granddaughter. I watched as Leaf pushed. I held her hand, to help her with the pain. I cringed when she cried out in pain anyway. “Almost there, Leaf. Pant the baby out mama…” I couched her as she pushed again. I smiled when Mercy caught the second twin and moved her so she was beside her twin brother. I reached over and helped clean my granddaughter. She looked just like me and her mama. “We have a baby girl!” I cheered with joy as the girl began crying. Our beautiful daughter had one of each gender, and they were so beautiful.

“A girl?” Minnow whispered from behind me. I looked back and smiled. “You have a son and a daughter, Minnow. Leaf did a good job. Get over here and meet your babies.” I helped him over to Leaf’s side and watched him as he looked his babies over. He was shaking so hard that the chair vibrated. I patted his back, to encourage him. I saw him reach over and give Leaf a kiss. I was glad to see that she had calmed down and that he wasn’t completely mortified by her outburst earlier. “They don’t share our birthday, but that’s OK. They get their own special day.” I told them, since they were likely not watching the time.

“I would have been OK with sharing.” Leaf told me, as she looked down at her twins. “We talked about names, and decided on Shark and Guppy if we had a boy and a girl.” She told us, as we admired the newborns. I watched Poppy help Leaf set them up to nurse. I was so proud of our daughter. She had done a fantastic job.

“Biggie and DJ? Why don’t you come in here and meet your grandchildren?” I called them, so they knew it was safe to come in. I watched as they came in, hand in hand. They both gazed upon their grandchildren with so much love. The same love I was certain Poppy and I felt for them as well. I had a feeling that Shark and Guppy would be very spoiled. I looked forward to every moment I got to spend with them. I was a very proud and excited first time grandpa.


	7. Tired Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch and Poppy decide to help Leaf and Minnow with their twins.

Leaf was understandably exhausted after having the twins, so for the next twelve hours, we let her rest and bond with her twins. We were on standby, to help as needed. Once Leaf was well rested, we helped arrange the introduction of Prince Shark and Princess Guppy, as the future heir and second in line for the throne. We had to make sure they were both bundled up nice and warm, since there was a lot of snow outside. We didn’t even go down to the ground, because there was two feet of snow on the ground. It was far too dangerous to go down there. I had a feeling it would be a week or two, before Sassafras and Carrot would find out about Shark and Guppy, since they were now stuck in their bunker. I had a feeling they had no problem with that. It was a good time for them to spend time with each other.

I watched as Minnow carried his newborn daughter, and Leaf carried her newborn son. They looked at each other, and then at the group of trolls who had gathered near the top of the Troll Tree. Almost everyone had made it to the introduction, despite the cold. “Good afternoon, everyone. Very early this morning, I gave birth to my twins. I’m proud to introduce to you, our future king, Prince Shark.” Leaf carefully showed off her newborn son. She looked so proud. I smiled as everyone cheered with joy. Prince Shark would be the first prince to be born first to the royal family, after five generations.

“This is Princess Guppy. She’s Prince Shark’s slightly younger sister. I thank you all, for coming today.” I heard Minnow, as he talked. I watched him closely. He was always so nervous about everything. I hoped that he didn’t faint again. Not when we were so high up on a snow covered tree. It wouldn’t be good for him, his five unborn babies, and little Guppy. I didn’t want them hurt.

“Thank you for coming, everyone. Let’s let Princess Leaf and Prince Minnow go home to rest. They had a long night.” Poppy told everyone, before walking over to Leaf. “Let’s get you and the babies home. It’s so cold out. They need to stay warm. They could get sick very easily at this age.” I told them, as I led them towards their home. “I’ll make dinner tonight.” I informed them, before going inside and preparing a pot for soup. It was one of the coldest days that our home had seen in years. I wanted to warm up our children and grandchildren.

Leaf wasn’t far behind us, and began expressing her gratitude, as she kicked her boots off. “Thank you for your help, mom and dad.” I looked back and smiled when Leaf walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I gave her a hug and smiled down at her newborn son. He was so content, snuggled up to her chest. I gently rubbed his chubby cheek. “I’ll babysit your twins whenever you want me to.” I offered to her. I remembered how hard it was to have two babies at the same time. It was going to be even harder for them in about four months, when the quintuplets arrived.

“Thank you, dad.” Leaf smiled at me, before walking over to Minnow. I saw that they were whispering to each other, before Leaf gave Shark to Minnow. I watched her retreat. I assumed she was going to give herself a few minutes of privacy. I couldn’t help but worry about her. The first few weeks after giving birth was so rough.

I went back to work on the soup. Once everything was chopped up, and cooking in a pot, I went to the living room, where I noticed Minnow had sat down in his recliner chair. He had fallen asleep with both twins on his chest. I walked over to him and gently took them from him. I planned to talk to him later, about how dangerous it was to do that. They both had some more learning to do. Poppy and I were happy to help.

“I was watching him. I thought it was cute.” Poppy sounded disappointed. I turned to her and smiled. “Did you at least take a picture?” I asked her, in hopes that she had taken a cute picture of the new father with his newborn babies, while sleeping. “Of course I did.” Poppy said with a proud smile on her face. A grin spread over my own face. I looked forward to developing those pictures. They were going to be so precious. I planned on taking a lot of pictures too.

I sat down on the couch and settled the twins next to each other, on my chest. I smiled down at them, as they both looked up at me with baby blue eyes. I knew since both their grandpas had light blue eyes, they might have light blue eyes too. They also had a fifty percent chance of having magenta eyes, since Poppy and DJ Suki had magenta colored eyes too. I silently wondered if they might pick up green eyes or orange eyes from their great grandparents. Leaf did have an orange eye. It was hard to say what their eye colors would be, yet. They were newborns. Their eye colors wouldn’t be certain for months. Regardless, I was certain they were both going to be very cute.

“Thank you for watching them, dad.” I looked up when Leaf came in. I smiled at her, when she came over and sat by me. I suspected she might take them, since she was still bonding with them, but she didn’t take them yet. I suspected she was letting me have a chance to bond with them. I smiled, when she cuddled into my side. Within minutes she was asleep. I wasn’t surprised, considering she had had a busy night and day.

“I better check on the soup.” Poppy told me, before heading for the kitchen. Oak and Maple had offered to watch their younger siblings for a few days, so we could help Leaf and Minnow adjust to parenthood. I was so glad that they were allowing us to help. It wasn’t easy, however, parenthood was so fulfilling and worth the sleepless nights. I was so happy for my daughter and son in law. Her family was growing, just like mine was, not so long ago.


	8. Fifty Shades Of Indigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch is about to get another son in law, however, he’s not so sure about this one.

For the next two months, Poppy and I were over at Leaf’s home regularly, to help Leaf and Minnow out with their twins. Minnow was put on bedrest, as his belly began to expand. We hoped he could at least make it to at least five months along, so that the babies were at least viable. We hoped he would make it closer to six months, however, with the increase of babies, the likelihood they would make it to term shrank with the large number. It meant that Leaf was the primary caregiver for the twins. It wasn’t easy for either of them, however, they both wanted this and were excited about the arrival of the quintuplets. It gave Jasper’s family a chance to see his legacy live on.

In those two months, Maple had fallen in love with a young troll who had recently moved into the colony. He was a twenty year old dark purple troll, with purple and pink two toned hair. He had dark purple eyes and a pink nose. His name was Indigo. Creek, Stream, and I didn’t care much for him, since he behaved differently than his spiritual presence indicated. Poppy thought I was just being too overprotective, because that was normal for me. I was overprotective of all of our children. I had good reason for it, considering my family’s past and my rough childhood.

I admit I was a very protective troll, however, that male gave me the creeps. I wasn’t sure if he could manipulate his spiritual presence, or if he was just really good about hiding his true colors. Either way, I wasn’t happy that he was seducing my second eldest child. It was well known that Maple was the second in line for the throne after Leaf. If anything happened to Leaf and Minnow, she would be in charge, as regent, until Shark was old enough to assume the throne. I had a sickening feeling in the pit of my gut that he was using her, so he could gain control of our colony. I was worried about my entire family, however, I was worried more so for my deaf daughter. She was incredibly vulnerable, and so shy.

I tried to stop their union, before he proposed, but he used my past against me. He had somehow found out that I hadn’t originally wanted Maple and Oak. I was certain he was the one that told them that they were rape children, and that I only raised them because I had to. They both didn’t talk to me for weeks after finding out, however, Oak slowly came to realize that I had only needed to process what had happened to me, before raising them. Maple on the other hand, wasn’t as accepting. Right before her wedding day, she told me to go away, or she was going to leave with Indigo, and she would never come back. I was so scared I would lose her.

So, when Shark and Guppy hit their second month of life, we all gathered for Maple and Indigo’s marriage. I stood near the back, since Maple didn’t want anything to do with me. My heart sank, when Poppy began reading the vows to our daughter. It hurt my heart, knowing she was so angry with me. I never meant to hurt her or her brother. What happened to me nearly nineteen years earlier had been so hard. I tried not to blame Maple and Oak, but I tried not to lie about how I felt before they were born. It was clear for a long time that the rape had scared me. I was in a dark place at that time.

As the ceremony came to an end, I watched as my family gathered for the reception. I wasn’t invited, so I headed home. When I got home, I went to the bathroom and checked myself in the mirror. I frowned, realizing my colors were faded gray for the first time in a long time, not including the death of friends or family. The fear of losing my daughter, and feeling like she was not safe, had me spiraling into a depressive state. 

I wasn’t sure how to shake the feelings I felt. I spent my entire childhood gray, so I remembered being this down in the dumps constantly before. My confidence was lacking and I was also so shy and quiet when I was this depressed. I really didn’t want to feel like that again. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something positive. I thought of Shark and Guppy. They really made me happy. I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. I was still gray much to my despair.

A soft sigh escaped me, as I left the bathroom. I laid down on the couch and covered myself with a blanket. The house was so quiet when no one was home. It was eerie and foriegn. I knew the silence wouldn’t last long, before my family would be home again. I had a feeling they would be talking about Maple and Indigo when they got home. I wasn’t ready to call him my son in law, even though he was now related to me by marriage. Something wasn’t right, and my daughter was in danger. I was certain of it, and there was nothing I could do about it.


	9. Complicated Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch talks to Oak about his other father, Dickory, and some about his past.

Needless to say, Poppy wasn’t happy about my sudden physically gray state. She talked with me for hours after Maple and Indigo’s wedding, but she couldn’t get my spirit lifted up. She tried to reassure me that Indigo was just what Maple needed and that she would no longer be living alone. I hadn’t cared for the idea that she would move out on her own, ever since Maple began showing signs that she was ready to be on her own. I tried to explain to her that Indigo didn’t seem like the right fit for Maple. It really hurt that she wasn’t listening to me. She didn’t agree with me. Indigo was making Maple happy, so Poppy felt he was the best for her. I tried to explain that he didn’t seem like a safe troll. The more I talked about it, the more others began to excuse my behavior as being overly paranoid. Creek, Stream, and even Oak were the only others that didn’t like Indigo either. We were the only four spiritual trolls in the village, and no one believed us.

For the next month, I hardly did anything. I took sick leave, which left Poppy in charge of doing everything that I would normally do for the colony. I told her now was a good time to teach Leaf how to run the colony, and have her help with the tasks. I needed time to process what was going on with Maple. I was highly distracted because I could sense that she was often anxious. I could also sense that she was occasionally in pain. I tried to tell myself that what I might be sensing was her first times having sex. I certainly hoped that he was being gentle with her. Something in me told me he wasn’t.

My emotional turmoil only increased when I sensed that there was a new life inside of Maple. A life I wasn’t even sure I would ever be able to meet. Maple had refused to be around me since right before she got married. I wanted to go check on her, however, I feared by doing so I would scare her away. I wanted to give her medicine and tea, like I had done for Leaf. I wanted to spoil her and prepare her for parenthood, like a good father should. I told Poppy that she was pregnant. She reassured me that she would take care of her and make sure she got what she needed, since Maple had disowned me.

My extreme depression didn’t go unnoticed by my other two older children. Leaf and Oak checked on me often and asked if there was anything they could do to help. I assured them that I was going to be fine, and just needed time to get through some tension that I felt over Maple’s marriage. They didn’t give up on checking on me, and did try to lift my mood. Leaf even set up babysitting days, so I could play with and take care of her twins. It gave her a chance to take care of Minnow too, since we suspected he might pop out his quintuplets at any time.

As evening time approached, on the second month anniversary of Maple’s marriage, Oak approached me again. I could sense that something was really bothering him, so when he asked if I could have a chat with him, I accepted. We found a spot near the river to talk. I sat by the water’s edge and watched as the water casually drifted downstream. Even though it was still cold, I decided I needed a recharge. I placed my feet into the cold water and laid on my back, as I waited for Oak to find the words he wanted to express. I looked at the stars, since it was a clear night. It was peaceful and calming.

“Dad?” I heard Oak start, as he settled down beside me. “I remember a man that looked a lot like me, attacking Leaf, Maple, and I when we were five and six. I have to know, was that our father?” He asked me. I cringed, before looking at him. I wasn’t going to lie to him, but I had never openly talked to him about Dickory. I didn’t think it was necessary, since Poppy had accepted the twins as her own trollings.

“I’m afraid he was, Oak. The day you and Maple were born, I saw you and knew exactly who it was that raped me. Our family attacked him angrily, and then banished him as a result of the rape. They were angry that your father, Dickory, had taken advantage of me, when I was weak from healing nearly the whole colony from food poisoning. He sedated me afterwards, so I’m not even sure if he continued after I was out or if he did anything else malicious. I doubt it. I think he was just trying to keep me from seeing him. He did blindfold me. It’s why I told you to never heal completely alone. I don’t want you to get hurt like I did. I’m sorry I never told you about him. Your mother loved you and Maple before you were even born. She loved you both before I even accepted you both and fell in love with you. I felt that so long as you both knew she was your mother, that was all that matters. I accepted your grandma Mercy as my own mother, in a similar fashion. She isn’t my biological mom, as you know.” I explained to him. I avoided eye contact as guilt settled in further. A lot of my depression lately was stemmed by guilt.

“I think I understand, dad. Is it true you didn’t want us, before we were born?” Oak inquired with a serious look on his face. I glanced at him, and frowned. He looked so much like Dickory, when he made that face. I was so glad he ended up with my hair and eye colors. It made it easier to be around him.

“I’m afraid what you heard was true. I went through a point in my pregnancy where I didn’t want to accept the fact that you and Maple existed. Someone hurt me, and the fact that they had successfully inseminated me made it worse. I knew it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t Maple’s fault either. I even considered getting an abortion, however, I talked myself out of it several times. It wouldn’t have been fair for you and your sister.” I told him honestly. I startled when he gave me a hug. That was the last thing I expected from him after that sort of talk.

“I’m glad you told me dad. Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you didn’t abort us and gave us a chance at life. I’m so sorry that Dickory hurt you. You’re the last troll that deserved something like that. I just wish I could convince Maple that you do love us. It’s clear you do. I think she’s been severely jealous of Leaf lately. You’ve been giving her a lot of attention. Especially for the last year.” Oak laid down beside me and took my hand. I looked at him and cracked a smile when he mentioned the jealousy between my eldest daughters. I had noticed it years ago. They didn’t get along as well as Poppy and Rose did.

“I haven’t been trying to play favorites, you know? Leaf will be a queen in less than two years. We’ve been preparing her for that. She also had twins. That’s not easy to handle. I can’t imagine having a spouse who is carrying quintuplets too. She’s got a lot going on, and your mother and I are just trying to help her. We didn’t mean to make it seem unfair.” I told him. Tears threatened, as I took a deep breath. “I’ve really messed up Oak. I don’t think Maple will forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve tried so hard for so long to be stronger than I am. It’s not easy…”

“Give her time, dad. The idea that you were not fully truthful to us does hurt.” Oak squeezed my hand, and then looked towards the village. “You’re stronger than you think dad. Mom told me stories about your birth and early childhood. You’ve been through a lot. I understand.” I looked at him and cracked a smile. The same boy that I had never wanted, was now my best buddy. I was so glad I let him and his sister live.

“I did have a rough infancy and early childhood. Did mom tell you I induced grandpa Sky’s labor? I remember everything from before I was born, which surprises him to this day. I was trying to save your aunt Leaf. Your oldest sister was named after her. She is your aunt’s doppelganger.” I teared up more at the mention of my twin sister. “It hurt so much to lose my twin. I silently think of Leaf as a miniature version of my sister. I had almost gone with an herb theme, when you kids were born, however, I wanted my own idea. I figured since I was a Branch, and you two were the growing stabilizer of my future, I wanted to name you after trees.” I shifted, before looking up at the sky, again. “Basil was the one that was named after our father, Thyme. I felt if he wanted to keep the herb theme, it was his place to choose to do so. Of course all seven of his kids are named after herbs, as I predicted.” I rambled on, feeling better about talking about these things to my son. I normally kept a lot of my heartache and emotions to myself. I didn’t want to burden anyone, but Oak was so easy to talk to. He actually listened to me, even when everyone else didn’t.

“No, mom didn’t tell me about that. She did say this is your second life. Is that true?” Oak inquired curiously. I was glad he was interested in learning more. I hadn’t talked about my life as Iaso that much, because so many trolls didn’t believe that this was my second life. “Yes son, it’s true. I was a healing goddess by the name of Iaso. I was the daughter of Asclepius. I had four sisters: Aceso, Aglæa, Hygieia, and Panacea. We worked together all our lives to heal the sick and injured. I was immortal, but when I was in the underworld, Hades tried to buy my soul. When I refused, he punished me and forced a potion upon me, that made me mortal. Not long after, he triggered a war that I never saw the end of. I died, as I healed Hercules on the battlefield. I read that Hercules won. I’m so glad I was able to help. Our ancestors would have been doomed, if I didn’t at least try.” I closed my eyes and frowned. “I was pregnant at the time. I silently wonder if my child’s soul was reborn in you, since you can heal in this life, just like I can.” I felt the tears run down my cheeks. I had lived over thirty nine years in this life, yet the idea that my child had died with me hurt. I could have ended it all for Oak, again, in this life. The guilt still tugged at my heart.

“Wow, dad, I had no idea that you've been through so much. I want to learn more. I’m sure you have so many stories from your time as Iaso.” Oak sounded so interested. I looked over at him and smiled at him. “I can do that. Perhaps you can write down the accounts that I do remember. I’m sure a revision is due of ancient accounts of my life. Some of them are wrong. I’m not surprised after thousands of years and many language translations of our folklore.”

“Sounds like a good plan dad. I can’t wait to get started.” Oak looked up at the sky, so I looked up again. It had been so nice to have a talk with only him. Most of the time, Maple was with him, so I tried to share the love. We were overdue for this talk, and I was so glad he wasn’t angry with me. I silently hoped that I could get through to Maple too. Little did she know, just how much I loved her too.


	10. Monster In Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch has had enough and takes action against Indigo.

A week after Oak and I had our talk, Minnow went into labor. As soon as I sensed that he was in considerable pain, I headed straight for Leaf and Minnow’s home. I helped set up for the birth, at their home, since there was a storm going through, which was causing heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. Transferring him in the tree at the time wasn’t safe. He was considerably round in the belly, and a fall from the tree could be fatal for all six of them.

Minnow was shockingly calm during labor. He reminded me a lot of Poppy. He only let out groans of discomfort occasionally. After four hours of labor, he successfully delivered premature but healthy babies. He had ended up having two boys and three girls. He named them Walleye, Flounder, Tetra, Betta, and Molly. He was understandably exhausted after pushing out five babies, so after all five had a chance to nurse, we tucked him in for a well deserved nap. Within moments of being tucked into bed, he was out like a light. I turned to Leaf and smiled at her. “He did a great job. Let’s let him rest for a little while.” I whispered as I led her out of their bedroom. “He’ll be hungry when he wakes up. I’ll start dinner.” I told her, before getting to work in the kitchen.

“I’ll help you, dad.” Oak told me, before he got to work on making pancakes. It was something that Minnow loved to eat. “Make sure to add extra liquid eggs. He’ll need the protein.” I told him, as I worked on making a mixed berry sauce, to pour onto the pancakes. “Go get some rest, Leaf. We got this.” I told my eldest. She was going to need her rest, since there were now seven babies to care for.

Oak and I were the only two that had gone to Minnow’s birth, since it was so stormy outside. As we worked in the kitchen, I suddenly noticed that Maple was under extreme distress. It was so extreme, that I couldn’t bear to stay away this time. I turned off the stove and looked at Leaf. “I’ve got to go. It’s an emergency. Oak, come with me. I need your help.” I hurried out the door and ran straight for Indigo and Maple’s home. I could sense that Oak was right behind me. I sensed that he was livid, and it was rightfully so. Something bad was going on. We had to get there as fast as we could.

When we reached the flower pod, I tried to open the door. I found it locked. Enraged that my daughter was in severe pain, I shoved my right shoulder into the door, breaking it from the hinges. I immediately saw why Maple was in so much pain. Indigo was beating her in the living room. When I had entered, he punched her right in the abdomen. “What the hell, Indigo?!” I hollered with anger, before grabbing a hold of him. I pulled him away from Maple and pinned him to the floor. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now?!” I saw that Maple had hidden herself behind the couch. I was so worried about her.

“Oak, take her to the medical pod, now! Get evidence, before healing her. This asshole is going to jail!” I demanded to my eldest son, while I held Indigo down. “You messed with the wrong family, jackass! You’ve hurt my daughter for the last time!” I resisted the urge to beat the glitter out of him in front of Maple. She was traumatized enough. I watched as Oak led her out of the flower pod. Once they were out of sight, I glared down at the monster who married my daughter. “Answer me!”

“I didn’t give her permission to get pregnant! I was taking matters into my own hands!” Indigo snapped at me. His words boiled my blood. Did he just tell me he was attempting to abort her pregnancy? I wasn’t having it. I got up and pulled him to his feet. I began forcing him towards the prison cells. “Indigo, you’re under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you. If she loses that baby, you’ll be tried for murder.” I could sense that several trolls had come out to see what was going on. I stopped, when Poppy got in front of us.

“What’s going on?!” Poppy inquired with deep concern in her voice. She looked at me with wide eyes. I don’t think she had seen me this angry in a long time. She had no idea just how livid I was. “This monster in law just got done beating Maple! I witnessed him hitting her in the stomach! He just told me he didn’t give her permission to get pregnant! He told me he was taking matters into his own hands!” I explained, with a tone that was coated with anger. I could sense that several trolls were frightened by my rage.

“She puked on me! I told her I didn’t want children! She was supposed to be on birth control!” Indigo yelled at us. He began struggling in my grasp. I shoved him to the ground, so his face was smeared with mud. “Stop fighting me! What you did was wrong! She could have easily gotten pregnant while on birth control. It’s not one hundred percent effective!” I felt hot as I screamed at him. I was angry that he hurt her and the baby. I was angry that he got away with so much. I was angry that no one had believed me for this long. I had only wanted to keep my daughter safe.

I could now sense that Poppy was enraged. She helped me restrain Indigo. “Indigo, if you killed her baby, you’ll be put to death.” She helped me guide him towards the prison cells. Once there, I shoved him in, and then closed and locked the door. “We should make him rot in this prison cell for the rest of his life.” I spat, before turning to Poppy. “I told you! You never listen to me!” I stormed away from her. I went straight for the medical pod, to check on Maple.

“Branch? I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad at me. I wanted Maple to be happy.” I heard Poppy, as she followed me. I cringed when she grabbed my arm. I turned to her, with tears threatening in my eyes. “Don’t you think, that’s what I wanted for her too? Now we might lose a grandchild, and she’s traumatized for life! Next time I tell you I don’t trust someone, please trust my instincts. I’m a spirit troll for crying out loud!” I yelled at her. Poppy and I rarely fought, but when it came to the safety of the trollings, I would rage in a heartbeat. I was extremely protective of all twelve of our children.

“Lesson learned, Branch. I’ll try to be better about listening. Let’s go check on her.” Poppy gave me a quick hug, before taking my hand and heading for the medical pod. I tried to calm my nerves as we headed that way. The last thing Maple needed was for me to be raging mad. I took a few deep breaths, before entering the medical pod with Poppy. I walked over to my daughter’s medical pod bed and looked down at her when she turned to me. My heart broke, seeing that her skin was gray in color. The trauma had been severe enough that she had faded gray. I was grateful to sense that the baby was alright. She had been healed in time to save the baby.

Maple’s olive green eyes filled with tears. She reached for me, like she wanted a hug. I embraced her and held her. I wasn’t sure if this meant she accepted me as her papa again, or if she just needed a hug. It could have easily been both. Either way, I held her. She had a tight hold of me and that was alright. She needed the comfort. As soon as she let me go, I crawled into the bed and held her to my chest. It had been years since I held her like that, but at that moment, she was just a little girl, needing her daddy. I had no plans of letting her go, anytime soon.


	11. Dead Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word gets around quickly about what Indigo did to Maple.

I spent the rest of the evening with Maple. I didn’t leave her side. She seemed to be glad I was holding her, however, she hadn’t moved much since I crawled into bed with her. A matter of fact, she fell asleep while cuddling up to me. She slept hard, as if she hadn’t slept for days. I sensed a lot of emotional turmoil radiating off of her. I wasn’t sure what all Indigo did, but something told me I didn’t want to know. I was already plotting his death. He had hurt my second eldest child. I was angry beyond words with him.

It was near midnight, when I sensed that Indigo was now the one experiencing severe pain. I quietly got up and headed for the door. “Oak, stay with Maple. I’ll be right back.” I headed out the door and then ran as fast as I could towards the jail cells. Something told me Basil had managed to get into the prison cell, even though I told him to leave Indigo alone. We were all angry with him, however, we still had to do this the way King Peppy and Queen Lily would have wanted to do it. Especially since King Peppy was still alive. He would be livid if we killed Indigo without giving him a second chance after some jail time.

As I approached the jail cell, I noticed that my nephew, Prince Parsley, was standing outside the prison cell. I had entrusted him with guarding the jail cell, knowing he was tamer than his father. I eyed him, as I got closer to the cell. I could still sense that Indigo was in pain, and that the pain was getting worse. “You let someone in there? Who’s in there with, Indigo?” I asked him, before unlocking the prison cell door.

“Amber wanted to talk to him, uncle Branch.” Parsley answered me a matter of fact like. I looked inside and saw that Amber was in there. She had blood splatter all over her face, body, arms, and even her legs. I could no longer sense that Indigo was alive. Alarmed by her appearance, I hurried over to her and checked her over. I could sense that she was livid, but she wasn’t in pain.

“What happened?!” I asked Amber, even though I had a feeling I knew what she had done. She had a knife in her left hand. It appeared she had killed her niece’s abuser. She looked at me with tears in her golden colored eyes. “I wasn’t going to let him do what my father did to me and my mom when we were kids. I have to keep my family safe. Do what you must with me, Branch. I understand I didn’t do this the way I was supposed to.” I saw a few tears shed from her tear ducts. My heart was broken for her. Hearing that Maple had been beaten probably brought back horrible memories for Amber. Acorn had been abusive not only to her, but to me and our mom as well. I didn’t blame her for wanting to kill Indigo. It had taken a lot of restraint to not do the same thing.

“I’ll talk to Poppy, but I don’t think you’ll be punished long, if you’re even punished. You did this to defend our family. Come on, let’s get you settled in a prison cell. Please wait to take a shower. I’ll come talk to you in a little bit. I need to collect evidence.” I took the knife from Amber, and then set it by Indigo. I led her to the prison cell next door. I made sure the door was locked, and then looked at Parsley. “Please don’t let her out. We have to do the right thing. I doubt Poppy will keep her in there for long.”

“I understand, uncle Branch. I wanted to do it myself, but I didn’t want to upset you and aunt Poppy. I didn’t think Amber would do this. She’s always been so sweet and gentle.” I could see that Parsley was surprised. He had a right to be. Amber was far too sweet to be the kind of troll to lash out violently. She likely didn’t want to do it either, however, she obviously didn’t want her family to get hurt further. I didn’t blame her one bit. I just hoped that what happened wouldn’t have negative effects on the future. What she did could upset Maple. It also could give trolls ideas of being able to commit crimes that we were trying to prevent by following the old rules.

Regardless, I had to do what King Peppy did, when I had killed Acorn. Amber had to be punished, even if it meant house arrest for a week or two. I planned to talk it over with Poppy. We were all angry with Indigo, so I was certain Poppy wouldn’t punish Amber long. I walked to the medical pod, with my head clouded with what needed to be done. Indigo needed to be prepared for burial. I tried to decide how it would be done. I silently decided I would let Maple make that decision. He was her husband after all.

After I arrived at the medical pod, I talked to Poppy quietly about what I found. She told me Amber shouldn’t be punished, since she was protecting family. I nodded to her, and then looked at Maple. “How am I going to tell her?” I asked Poppy. Even though Indigo hurt my baby, she did love him. I didn’t want to hurt her heart more.

“I’ll talk to her. We’ll get through this as a family.” Poppy reassured me, before giving me a hug. I returned it and closed my eyes. I was glad she seemed to understand that my family and I had been through a lot. Especially when I was younger. Indigo reminded me a lot of Acorn. It was extremely eerie and heart breaking.

A few hours later, I walked Maple outside. The ground was still muddy from the storm, however, it was no longer raining. I held her hand, as Poppy held a funeral for Indigo. I didn’t think Indigo deserved a funeral, however, my daughter had loved him, despite the pain he had caused her. She wanted this funeral for him, so Poppy made it so. My baby was traumatized and widowed. I hoped she wasn’t angry with her aunt Amber, however, I suspected she wasn’t. Indigo had tried to kill her baby, and I knew Maple loved children. Even though this hurt, it was a blessing in disguise. I just hoped my little girl was strong enough to move on from this. It wasn’t easy, after going through so much in such a short time.


	12. Lifting Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch and Poppy try their best to make Maple feel better.

Within days after Indigo passed away, Maple surprised me again. Sometime in the middle of the day, I began sensing another life within her. One that was likely about two or so weeks gestationally younger than its twin. It was uncommon, but sometimes a troll conceived a second baby after getting pregnant. Maple was barely a month pregnant, when Indigo died. I was glad that both babies had survived their father’s vicious attack. To me, these two grandbabies were miracle babies.

After dinner that night, I sat with her and asked her how she was feeling. I also mentioned that I had noticed a second baby inside of her. She didn’t react about the second baby, which didn’t surprise me, since she had been feeling pretty sickly, outside of the obvious grief she felt. As sick as she was already feeling in her pregnancy, I had a feeling she had a severe cause of morning sickness. She was having trouble keeping food and water down. Medicine, mint tea, and cuddling with me or Oak after meals seemed to help considerably, but she had gotten sick a few times if she left us too soon. I had a feeling stress wasn’t helping her. I knew there was little we could do about that. She needed time and patience. For now, I had her and Star move back into our flower pod, to make sure that she got the care she needed after going through such a huge series of life changing events.

I watched as she signed that she felt nauseous and tired. I sat by her on the couch and held her as she cuddled into me. I hadn’t mentioned anything about what happened, or asked if she would leave because of how Indigo was handled. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere, and I knew she would talk to me, when she was ready to talk about what happened.

I wanted to make her feel better, so badly. I thought on the couch, as I cuddled with her. One of Maple’s favorite things to do, was to go fishing. I wasn’t entirely sure if she would want to do that, while pregnant, but part of me thought perhaps she was overdue for some mom and dad time. She shared a lot of our love with her eleven siblings. She needed us now more than ever. A quiet day at the river may just be what she needed to help lift her spirits.

Later that night, after everyone went to bed, I laid in the bed with Poppy. I cuddled into her and held her to me, as I did every night before we fell asleep. I stayed like that in silence for a few minutes, before clearing my throat. “Poppy, I was thinking, if the weather permits, we should go fishing with Maple tomorrow. Some glitter fish might be lighter on her stomach and you know she enjoys catching them.”

“I think that’ll be great for her.” Poppy smiled at me. “She needs the comfort right now. She’s been through so much. I just can’t imagine what’s going on in her brain right now. Sure I’ve been through a lot, but I’ve always had you. She’s alone in this struggle.” I told her, as I looked into her magenta colored eyes. Maple hadn’t left my mind for months for so many reasons.

“She’s not alone, Branch. She’s got us and her siblings. She also has a large family that loves her and will support her through thick and thin. She’s home now, and is alive. What she needs now is time and patience.” Poppy reassured me, before kissing me. “Get some rest, Branch. We have a busy day tomorrow. You know how strong those glitter fish are.” She poked my nose gently, before cuddling into me again. “See you in the morning, my beautiful queen.” I closed my eyes and was soon sound asleep.

The next morning, Poppy, Maple, and I packed up our fishing gear and walked to the river. I set up chairs and set out drinks and snacks, while the girls prepared their fishing rods. Maple seemed excited, which I was so glad to see. It was the first time in days that I saw her smile. I smiled at her, when she walked over to me and kissed my cheek. She gave me a hug and then went to the water’s edge with her pole. I beamed, as I took my place beside her with my own pole.

“Branch, your colors are back again. Thank goodness…” Poppy smiled over at me, as she rejoiced at the fact that my colors had come back. I looked at my hands and sighed in relief. I thought perhaps I had regained them when I realized that Maple was no longer mad at me. I had never meant to hurt her heart. When she was ready, I planned to explain myself. I hoped she understood why I struggled when she was within me. I wanted to tell her that I fell in love with her the moment she was born. She had been so vulnerable when she was born. She had almost died in my hands. I had fallen in love with her back then, and that wasn’t ever going to change.

My thoughts of the past were soon interrupted, when I felt a tug on my pole. I pulled back, and screeched when I felt a tight pull on my pole. I began fighting with the glitter fish. I saw it splash around at the surface. I slowly reeled it in, until I got it to shore. I barely got it on dry land and killed, before I saw the hard tug of a fish on Maple’s pole. I quickly hurried to her, to make sure she got it up on her own. I let her do it and watched as my strong girl reeled in her own fish. I signed to her that she did a good job. She told me thank you. 

Maple’s skin was still gray, but seeing her happy and fishing made me feel so much better. I knew it was going to take time for her to regain her confidence and colors. It wasn’t going to happen overnight, or even in a few weeks. I looked forward to seeing her spirit uplifted again. I loathed the fact that she had been hurt. I silently hoped that she would find the right troll for her one day. I couldn’t stand the idea of her being alone to raise a set of twins. She deserved way better than she had with Indigo.


	13. Life Versus Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch has a scare like nothing he has ever experienced before.

As summer came to the colony, I was busy, ensuring that the colony got what it needed and remained safe doing so. I spent a lot of time at the river, since it was a popular place to gather during the hot days of summer. I wanted to be there, just in case there were any close calls. I did not want a repeat of the horrible spring when Jasper drowned.

Maple remained reserved and quiet. She did spend a lot of time with Oak, when Poppy and I couldn’t be with her. Her belly was growing large, as expected. It seemed her little twins were doing just fine, despite their father’s vicious attack. I was extremely grateful, and spent some of my spare time talking to them, just like I did when Shark and Guppy, when they were inside Leaf’s belly.

Shark and Guppy were also doing their own impressive growing. Shark was larger than Guppy, and was fiester than her too. It seemed he had picked up on his mother’s personality. Guppy seemed shier, but wasn’t as shy as Minnow was, when he was a baby. It was fun to watch their personalities develop. It was also interesting to see them interact with their younger siblings, who were just over three months younger than them.

It was Midsummer’s day, and one of the hottest days of the year. Poppy and I arranged a water balloon fight right by the river. I walked along the river’s edge and checked for dangerous spots and mud. I didn’t want any trollings to fall into the river. I found a few questionable spots and blocked them off, so that the little ones would be safe. I then went through my list to make sure we had enough supplies to assure that the party could last for a few hours. I nodded and checked everything off as I made sure they were nearby. Once that was done, I checked on the snacks. It seemed we had a good supply this year. I was pleased by the amount of food that volunteers had given to the event this year. Once I was sure everything was in order, I gave Poppy a thumbs up.

Poppy got on a mushroom stump and looked among the crowd that had gathered. It was a large crowd, as I would expect for this sort of event. I could see that Shark and Guppy had their heads poked out of Leaf’s hair. This would be their first water balloon fight, even though they would be riding it out inside their mother’s hair. I hoped they would have fun. “Alright everyone, as you all know, we’re going to have a water balloon fight. We have some rules to assure that it’s fun for everyone. Avoid throwing at the face or stomach. Running is OK, but watch where you’re going. Most importantly of all, have fun! Alright, get ready, set, go!”

I quickly grabbed a few water balloons and chucked them at my eldest children. I laughed when Leaf threw one at me, drenching my chest. I threw one at her, nailing her in the hip. The sounds of laughter were filling the air, which was music to my ears. I noticed that Maple was also playing with the water balloons. It was so nice to see her running around and playing. She had come a long way in the last three months.

We were about an hour into the event, when I heard a loud screech behind me. It was Spruce. He had slipped into the river. I quickly ran to my youngest son’s rescue. I jumped into the water, and scooped him up, before he breathed in too much water. I struggled with the current for a few minutes, before I felt Poppy take Spruce from me with her hair. I was about to reach for her, now that she had Spruce on dry land, when I felt the current take me under. I kicked and struggled against the current. I was a strong swimmer, but the river was dangerous, even for a healer like myself.

For over a minute, I tried to get to the surface, before my body forced me to breathe in water. I panicked, thinking this was it. I was going to die, at the age of thirty nine, from drowning. I wasn’t going to meet Maple’s twins, or watch the rest of my children grow up. As darkness came to me, I thought of my family. I hoped that they would do alright without me. I hoped that Oak would carry on my healing legacy. They were going to need him.

For a while, my body felt cold and motionless. It seemed like an odd feeling to me, but I didn’t remember how I felt the last time I died. A matter of fact, I didn’t remember heaven. It seemed that memory wasn’t something that a troll had when they were angels. After a short time in the cold, feeling motionless, I started to feel warm again. A dim light waved around in front of me. I tried to reach for it, but my arms didn’t work.

“Branch?! Wake up, sweetheart.” I could hear Poppy’s voice. I thought that was incredibly unusual. If I was dead, how was I hearing her voice? I tried to talk to her, but only a groan escaped my throat. I cracked my eyes open, and winced when I saw bright light. I yelped, feeling a tight squeeze around my chest. As my eyes began to readjust, I saw that Poppy was on top of me.

“Branch! Oh thank god! You scared us!” Poppy smothered me in kisses. I coughed a few times, feeling pain in my chest. I began healing myself. I noticed that Oak was helping me heal my fractured ribs. “Who gave me CPR?” I whispered. I still felt dizzy and disoriented, but was very grateful to be alive.

“Mama Goldie, and Grandma Mercy worked together to save you.” Oak told me, as he healed my injuries. As my eyes cleared up, I noticed that all of my children and immediate family were right next to me. I looked up at all of them and cracked a smile. “That’s why it’s important to watch where you’re going, kids.”

“All about safety.” Leaf’s voice sounded a little shaky. I looked around and found that Spruce was clung to Sky’s hip. He looked mortified. I motioned him towards me and held him when he hugged into me. “I’m glad you’re alright, buddy. You sure scared me.” I rubbed his back as he had a good cry. I was sure it must have been scary to see his papa lifeless and nearly drowned.

“There, there, I’m alright. It’ll take a little more than some water to kill your old timer.” I reassured my youngest child. “I’m tough as beans.” I winced as I sat up. I felt a lot better, but was still a little uncomfortable. “Where were we?” I asked them, as they gave me a little bit of space.

“I think you’ve had enough water for today, dad.” Leaf sniffled, before giving me a tight hug. I held her and closed my eyes. I was so glad I was given this second chance at life. I thought the water had done me in. It looked like I was going to see more grandchildren after all.


	14. Unexpected Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch’s near death experience sparks a series of unexpected events.

After nearly drowning in the river, saving my youngest son, it wasn’t a surprise to me that my family was extra clingy to me for a while. I was exhausted the first few days after it happened, and so was Oak. We both spent that time, in bed next to each other, mostly sleeping. When we were awake, we talked. I told him he could sleep in his bedroom, until he recovered from helping save my life, since he had willed me back to life, but he insisted he stay close to me. I was certain I had given him and his siblings a big scare. He didn’t seem to want to leave my side and it was the same with my other children.

Basil and Rose were over often as well, and helped with the children. It was nice to hear the family playing nearby. I got visitors often, and was hugged a lot. Despite nearly dying, and going without oxygen for several minutes, my healing ability had me back on my own two feet sooner than most would after such an experience. I was back to doing my everyday activities, as everyone would expect of the colony’s king.

Poppy and I had always been close, however, the near death experience had her clinging to me whenever she got the chance. It was no surprise, since she had nearly been widowed at the age of thirty nine. As soon as I felt better, we spent as much time as we could, alone and together. Poppy seemed to not be able to get enough of me. I was glad she had had her tubes tied, when our youngest set of twins were born, because I was certain she would get pregnant with as much as we were going at it, just like rabbits.

Life had other plans for us though, and just like when I got my tubilication, Poppy’s tubilication had somehow healed. I had a feeling it was from all the cuddling we did, while I was recovering. My overactive healing ability must have reversed the surgery she had six years earlier. Only a month after nearly drowning, I realized that Poppy had become pregnant. It was in the early morning hours, when I had noticed it. I cuddled into her and smiled to myself. Poppy had wanted to have more kids, but we had twelve. I had tried to convince her that our family was big enough. It seemed fate had once again told us otherwise.

“Good morning…” Poppy smiled up at me, as she began to wake up. I smiled at her and ran my hand through her messy morning hair. “Good morning, beautiful mama. I have a surprise for you this morning.” I reached down to her belly and rubbed it gently. “You’ve found yourself pregnant again.” I gave her belly a gentle kiss. I was happy, despite the surprise.

“I’m pregnant?! Branch, I had a tubilication!” Poppy looked shocked for several minutes, before reality sank in. I told her when she had it done, when she had the boys through a cesarean section, that it might reverse, like it had done with me. She was close to me all the time. It was likely to happen eventually. “How many?” She asked me, with some concern in her voice. It was so weird hearing her voice sound so low. I hoped she wasn’t disappointed.

“Just a singleton this time, my beautiful queen. There is a slight chance I might sense more later, since you’re only about two weeks along. Just like when Maple was pregnant.” I kissed her and smiled at her. “You get your baker’s dozen after all.” She had told me she wanted thirteen. It happened to be one of her favorite numbers. I wasn’t sure why. In folklore, it was an unlucky number. I didn’t care for it. I would rather have our family end evenly, like I thought it had.

“I hope it’s another boy.” Poppy smiled at me. I had a feeling something was bothering her though. “What’s the matter, Poppy?” I asked her, not wanting her to be upset over her pregnancy. I may have wanted our family to be done at twelve, but I wasn’t going to argue with fate. It was going to do what it wanted. I loved all of our babies. One more wasn’t going to do us any harm.

“I’m not a young mom anymore, Branch. I’m a grandma. My body isn’t what it used to be. I’m scared I’ll miscarry. It’s also weird. This baby will be an aunt or uncle, before it’s even born. I hope Leaf and Maple won’t be upset.” Poppy’s normally optimistic demeanor didn’t sound optimistic this time. She had a good point. Queen Lily and Princess Rose had suffered several miscarriages. Poppy had been very lucky to have never lost a baby or child.

“It’ll work out. Besides, Basil’s tubilication healed too. Their baby will need a cousin to play with.” I tried to give her the confidence and optimism. It was so weird to be the one to try and induce confidence. It felt like our roles had been reversed. Rose had shared the same concerns, but I thought this was a great time for them to expand their family. Basil really wanted to have a large family, and loathed that I had almost twice as many kids as he did.

“You’re right, Branch. It’s not like we have a choice anyway. I did want a lot of kids. We get one more to love and cherish for the rest of our lives.” Poppy cuddled into me and smothered me with kisses. I was glad I was able to make her feel better. I returned her kisses and cuddled with her. We had another baby coming. I looked forward to meeting the little one. I had a good feeling about this one. Something in me told me he or she was going to be just fine.


	15. Motherly Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch is proud of how Maple handles the birth of her twins.

For the next month, Poppy did extremely well, despite her concerns. She wasn’t even experiencing morning sickness, like she had with most of her children. It was a relief, considering Maple was due to have her babies at any time. She wanted to be there to help the young mother, when it came time to deliver.

Maple hadn’t talked much about her twins, even as her due date came. She reminded me a lot of myself, when I was pregnant with her and her brother. I was sad for her, recalling how hard it was before they were born. I hoped that when her twins arrived, she would accept them and love them. It wasn’t their fault that their father was a jerk after all.

It was a cool autumn morning, when I woke up sensing she was in pain. I turned over in bed and shook Poppy gently. “I think it’s time.” I told her, before getting up and heading for Maple’s bedroom. I found her curled up on her side. She startled when I touched her. I told her I was certain she was going into labor, and that it was time to head for the medical pod. She simply shook her head and put the blanket over her head. My heart broke for her. I understood how she felt. I had tried to deny the fact my twins were coming, nearly nineteen years earlier.

“Poppy, can you please go get Mercy? I’m sure we can handle a home birth, so long as we have her here, just in case there are complications.” I watched Poppy go, and then sat by the edge of the bed. I crawled in and held my daughter, like I did when she had nightmares as a little girl. I felt her cuddle into me and sigh. I was glad she was accepting my comfort. She needed someone to love on her, during the stress of labor.

When Mercy returned, I told her that Maple was having a hard time accepting the fact she was in labor. I watched as she sat down on the other side of Maple’s bed. She removed the covers and began signing to her that everything was going to be alright. She began to tell her about her own struggles with Acorn, and how everything felt so much better, after Amber arrived. She even told her things I suspected but never knew about. A few tears ran down my cheeks. Mercy was so strong, and so was my second eldest child. They had common grounds that they should have never had. I wished it hadn’t happened to any of my children. It was bad enough that Mercy had gone through it.

After Mercy was done talking to Maple, she was a lot more understanding and calmer. We helped her out of her nightgown and walked with her, to help move the labor along faster for her. When Maple’s water broke, she startled so badly, that I was concerned she might fall. I held her and rubbed her back soothingly as she cried. I had a bad feeling part of her struggle was the fact she didn’t have a mate to lean upon. She had refused to even look at another male. She wasn’t ready. I didn’t blame her one bit.

When her contractions were about a minute apart, we helped her get into a warm bath. Mercy suggested that a warm water birth might help Maple, since she loved the water just as much as I did. The water would also make the birth less messy and in theory, less stressful for the first time mother. She seemed quite distressed by all the bloody fluid that was coming out of her. I reassured her several times that everything she saw and felt was normal.

After Maple was in the tub, I looked back and saw that Oak was peeking in. He had come over, not long after the labor had started. He was concerned about his slightly older sister. Maple had asked that he not watch, since she didn’t want him to see her naked. I understood her desire to keep her brother away. It was awkward to have family watching, while giving birth. It was bad enough that her mom, dad, and grandma were going to be witnesses. “I’ve got her, Oak. Try to relax and help us with your little brothers and sisters.”

“I’ll make breakfast, dad.” I heard him, before he left to head for the kitchen. I was glad he decided to keep himself busy, so I could focus on his sister. She was getting close and was breathing hard. I signed to her that she could push, when she felt the urge to do it. I held her hand, as she began pushing the first of her twins out. When the head of the first twin was out, I guided her hand down, to the little one’s head. I watched her eyes, as they lit up. I smiled as I helped lift the baby to her chest. Mercy began drying the little one as she began crying on her mama’s chest.

“It’s a little girl!” I declared with excitement. I looked up at Poppy and kissed her. Our second eldest daughter was a mother to a beautiful girl, who looked exactly like her from head to toe. I smiled at Maple and rubbed her cheek. I signed to her that she was doing a great job. She was halfway done, and then could nurse her babies and rest.

“This one is breech.” I heard Mercy tell us. I felt my heart race. This baby was about two weeks behind it’s twin in gestation, so there was a chance that Maple would have an easier time with it, but I was worried about the little one. Maple had almost died coming out backwards. I gently took the firstborn and gave her to Poppy. I then told Maple it was very important she do exactly what we told her, to ensure the birth of the breech baby went as smooth as possible.

After some repositioning, we had Maple start pushing again. To my relief, the baby was coming out fairly quickly. The head was the hardest part for her, but after some gentle manipulation, Mercy was able to help with the delivery of the second twin. It was another girl, who looked just like Indigo, except she had red in place of purple in her two toned hair. I helped Maple settle on her back, in the tub, and then helped dry the second born twin. I smiled, when she began crying loudly. She was healthy, which was a huge relief.

“That went smoother than her own delivery.” Poppy sounded relieved as she watched on. I smiled back at her and chuckled. “It didn’t help that I didn’t know she was breech. I would have done things differently if I had known.” I looked at Maple again and saw that she had a look of horror on her face. I cringed, realizing she was heartbroken by the sight of the second twin. I gave her a hug and held her. I knew exactly how she felt. I felt that way when Oak was born.

“I’ve seen that look before.” Mercy sounded sad. She had taken the second twin, since she was dry. I had a feeling she was giving Maple a chance to process the birth of the second twin. It hadn’t been easy for Mercy, and it wasn’t easy for me either. I just hoped that the story earlier would help Maple realize that the baby wasn’t at fault and would have her own personality.

It took a few minutes of being held, before Maple let me go and asked for her babies. She told me she wanted to name them Tulip and Carnation. Mercy and I helped her set them up to nurse. Despite the struggles during the birth, and the reaction after, I was proud of her for how she handled it all. It could have gone a whole lot worse.

Once the babies were done nursing, I helped Maple out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. Poppy and I led her to the bedroom, where she got dressed and went to the living room. She was settled in my recliner, with her newborn twins. I watched as her siblings fussed over her and the twins. The twins may have come into Maple’s life during a difficult time, but I could tell she didn’t regret that they were born. I was more proud of her then she would ever know.


	16. Fate Be Told

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch finds out that fate sometimes has different plans than he expected.

For a long time, I knew that Oak had a best friend that he only grew closer to over time. It was a slightly younger troll, by the name of Tea. He was Harper’s oldest son, and looked a lot like her, except his rainbow colors were darker in shade. He had a green eye and a purple eye. I thought for a long time that the two males were just friends, however, as Tea approached his eighteenth birthday at the end of autumn, I realized there was more to their friendship then I originally thought. Now that Tea was old enough to date, Oak began taking him on dates. They would visit coffee shops and go for long walks. I had a feeling a proposal and wedding would be coming soon.

Fate, however, had different plans for these young males. Oak’s nineteenth birthday was only days away, when Tea collapsed suddenly, during one of their dates. Oak understandably panicked and did his best to heal his boyfriend, however, what Tea had was not healable. I had sensed the problem and went to help my eldest son. I picked up Tea and carried him towards the medical pod as fast as I could. I could sense that he was bleeding internally, which had me worried he was having an aneurysm.

Mama Goldie, Grandma Mercy, and Doctor River worked well into the night, to perform surgery on the sickly young troll. When they were all done, Mercy took me aside and told them that they had found a tumor on one of Tea’s kidneys. It was small, which was why we hadn’t sensed it yet, but it did cause one of his veins to rupture. He had almost bled to death. He needed to be tested for more tumors. He was also going to need to go on chemotherapy, to assure that if there were microscopic sized cancer cells in his blood, they would be killed before they wreck more havoc on Tea’s body.

The news didn’t sit well with Oak. He knew we caught it early enough that Tea would likely survive the ordeal, but he wanted to have kids. He remembered that his uncle, Peace, hadn’t had any more children after his fight with lung cancer. Oak voiced several times that he was scared for so many reasons. I tried to reassure him that Tea was going to be alright. We had caught the cancer in time to save him.

Tea didn’t start chemotherapy right away so he could recover from nearly bleeding to death. He spent his time with Oak, so that Oak could take care of him, during his chemotherapy, which started about two weeks after his collapse. Oak said he wanted to elope right away, however, Poppy and I voiced our concerns about rushing into marriage. Tea was sick and wouldn’t do well with the stress of marriage. He needed to feel better first. We even tried to ease his worried mind, by collecting sperm from Tea, before his chemotherapy, just in case he lost the ability to have kids.

What I wasn’t prepared for, was what I found just a few weeks after Tea’s collapse. To my shock, my son was pregnant, not with one, or even two trollings. He was pregnant with triplets. I approached him, wanting answers. He was supposed to wait, like we had suggested. I thought hard about the words I wanted to use. I didn’t want to upset my son. He was stressed out enough, and didn’t need me to make it worse. As I came up to my son, I took his aside and looked down at him.

“Oak, I thought you were going to wait? You’re pregnant...” I started, as gently as I could muster. I sensed right away that he was tense. He looked up at me with worried light blue eyes. That face just about broke my heart. He likely thought he was in trouble, for having sex out of wedlock. He was in trouble, but it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

“I changed my mind dad. Tea might recover from his cancer, but I want him to have a chance to see his babies, if he doesn’t make it. I wanted to get married and do it the right way, but you and mom told me we had to wait. I didn’t want to wait.” Oak told me, with a shaky voice. “I don’t want it to be like Jasper and Leaf. I know being a single parent will be hard, but I got to give him this chance.” He rubbed a few tears away. I rarely saw Oak cry. He was a tough kid, but seeing him this defeated broke my heart even more.

“Tea’s going to be just fine, Oak. You’ll see. I can’t promise you won’t be in trouble for this, however, I’ll talk to your mom and we’ll work it out. I think I understand your reasoning. I just wish you had waited, like we asked for you to do. We need you and Tea safe. You’ve also got to remember you’ve got dwarfism. You’re at a much bigger risk while being pregnant. He needs care, and soon you’ll need care too. I don’t want you both alone. Not during all this.” I voiced some of my concerns. “You’ll have to go on bedrest as you near your due date, since you’re carrying triplets.”

“The fertility drugs worked? Thank goodness…” Oak seemed relieved, as if he wanted a multiple pregnancy. I flushed suddenly, feeling a sense of rage. Did he sneak into the medical pod and steal those drugs, or did one of our medical staff help him behind my back? I tried to calm my nerves, before asking him about it. “Who helped you with the fertility drugs?”

“Grandma Mercy did. She said she would elope us, if she could.” Oak looked down when he told me that. I had a feeling he was sworn to secrecy. He probably didn’t want to tell me, however, I was a scary force to reckon with, and would be livid if he lied to me. A sigh escaped me, as reality sank in. My own mother had helped her grandson, when she knew I was stubborn and wouldn’t budge. I was surprised that she allowed the sex out of wedlock, however, I wasn’t surprised that she helped one of her grandbabies. She loved every single one of them with all of her heart.

“Of course it was Grandma Mercy.” I let out a soft chuckle. I pulled him close and held him. “Let’s make this marriage official, so you don’t get in more trouble. Your mom will probably be more upset than I am. I think the troll you’ll have to worry about more, will be your Grandpa Peppy. He’s a huge stickler for rules.”

“I was actually more worried about your temper, papa.” Oak sounded a little nervous as he hugged me. I rubbed his back and smiled down at him. “Come on, give me a break. I got children to protect, including you. I have a reason for being so stubborn and grumpy sometimes.” I took his hand and headed for his home. “I want you and Tea to get dressed and wait in the living room. I’m going to get Poppy. We’ll get you eloped this afternoon. Hopefully your brother or sister don’t try to join us during the marriage. Your mom is going to go into labor any day now, you know.” I nudged him towards his home. “Don’t be surprised if Maple moves in and tries to help. She’s just as protective of you as I am.” I warned him with a smile on my face.

“I’d like for Maple to move in, dad. She can get some of her independence back.” Oak smiled at me, before heading home. I watched him go and couldn’t help but feel some pride. Despite being told no, he did what he felt was right. As much as I should have been angrier with him, I was glad he hadn’t listened this time. I had three more grandbabies on the way, that shouldn’t have existed. It gave me a lot of mixed feelings.

Later that afternoon, Poppy and I arranged a silent and private marriage in Oak and Tea’s home. We were the only ones present, since Tea wasn’t feeling well. I hoped for my son’s sake that his husband would pull through, so that the triplets could know and love their papa. Whatever the future held for this family, I knew they would have our backs. I smiled, as Oak began to sing to Tea, after the marriage was over. It was clear he was happy and in love. I just hoped that Tea wouldn’t have any complications, so that they could have many long years ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the song that Oak sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the creators!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xG9CviE5Fs


	17. Training For The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite his busy schedule, Branch makes sure he finds time to do extra important training with Minnow and Leaf.

With Leaf’s twenty first birthday less than a year away, I knew I had to pick up on training with her and Minnow. Most of what I talked to them about was how I ran things in the colony. I still had so much to teach them, however, I was always so busy. Just a few days after I helped Oak marry Tea, Poppy went into labor and delivered a son at home. We had planned on having her endure another cesarean section, since he was breech, but the little one had other plans. He arrived very quickly, just like his quadruplet siblings had done several years earlier. I had barely arrived in time to help her deliver his head. He had given us both a huge scare, however, he was born healthy despite that scare. Poppy and I had decided to name him Birch.

Leaf and Minnow were incredibly understanding when our training was delayed for a week, so that Poppy and I had a chance to bond with our newborn son. A matter of fact, they took it as a good time to practice some of what they had learnt from us. They helped around the colony and ran errands for us. I was shocked at how much they were managing to do for us, because they had seven little ones to take care of. They did it the same way I remember handling Aspen, Ash, Sycamore, Willow, Cherry, Apple, and Kiwi, since they were all born within a couple years of each other. They would carry two on each of their heads, and then Leaf would carry one on her chest, and one on her back. Minnow would carry the seventh kid on a strap that was on his chest.

When Birch reached one week old, I left him in his mama’s care, to walk over to Leaf and Minnow’s home. It was so early in the morning that it was still dark, however, I wanted to go over another training situation with them. We had never experienced a forest fire, however, I remembered hearing stories of situations where entire colonies would be wiped out during a forest fire. We lived so close to the river, that the likelihood that everyone would die from a forest fire would be pretty slim, but I wasn’t taking chances.

As soon as I reached their home, I knocked on the door and waited for one of them to answer. Leaf was the one to answer this time. She looked exhausted. I smiled at her when she answered. “You didn’t make him get up? You look like you’ve been up all night with babies.” I knew sometimes teething toddlers could be very difficult to get to sleep.

“Minnow didn’t get any sleep either. He’s trying to get Shark to settle down. He has a tooth coming in and his mouth is achy.” Leaf explained with a yawn. “What would have you over here so early papa? Is Tea alright?” She suddenly looked worried. It was an understandable concern. Tea’s chemotherapy put him at risk of infection and complications. I wasn’t terribly concerned over infection, since Oak could easily heal that. I was over there occasionally to make sure Oak didn’t get too overwhelmed, however, I didn’t have to do it as often as I used to, because Maple had moved in with them to help with meals and chores.

“Tea is fine. I’m here to go over a very important training scenario.” I chuckled at the glare that she gave me. “Don’t look so mad. This one is about a possible emergency, that you’re not ever going to have a choice of what time it might happen. I’m starting this now, and I’m going to explain to you what Poppy and I do. A fire drill will start in three, two, one…” I began banging on a cowbell. “Fire! Fire! Everyone, evacuate to the bunker! Now!” I heard a screech in the nursery, before I saw Minnow rush out of their nursery. He had all seven children in his arms.

“Let’s go!” Minnow looked panic stricken, as he carefully made his way towards the bunker. I followed him with Leaf and gave orders to everyone. “Hurry everyone, fire spreads quickly! No pushing and try not to panic. We want everyone to survive.” I caught up with Minnow, and had him give their seven little ones to family members as they passed by. “Minnow and Leaf, I need you to stay with me. I’ll show you what needs to be done next.”

Minnow was shivering as he waited for further instructions. He was in nothing but a pair of night shorts. I had a feeling he rarely wore anything more than that, even though it was winter. I didn’t blame him. I got hot at night when I slept too. It had gotten worse, after I had my twins. Hormones probably didn’t help either of us. Being pregnant did weird things to a body, even after the children were weaned.

Once everyone was in the bunker, I showed Minnow and Leaf a contraption I had built many years ago, that helped spray water onto the tree. “You’ll have to work together to do this. I’m only pointing at the nobs you turn. If I turn on the sprinkler right now, it will freeze this time of the year.” I instructed them on how to turn on the sprinkler system that would, in theory, put out a large fire. After I was all done, I turned to them and smiled. “Do you have any questions?”

“No, papa, I don’t have questions.” Leaf yawned, before checking the machine over. She had never seen it work, and I hoped that we never had to use it. “Is there a way you can just spray one flower pod, if it caught on fire?” Minnow asked me. I nodded to his question and showed him how he could manually control the waterflow, so it could drench one flower pod. “You’ll want to get the occupants out, if possible. They’ll become extremely wet, if there is too much damage to the flower pod. Although at that point, it might be too late for them anyway.”

“I sure hope this never happens. Fire can be so scary.” Minnow looked worried. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Especially our kids.” He voiced deep concern for his children. I was so proud of him. He had been a sweet and gentle father for their kids. “I hope not either, Minnow. All we can do is try our best to save who we can, if disasters like this do happen. That’s it for today’s lesson. You both look like you could use a nap. I’ll see if I can find you a babysitter.”

“No, that’s OK dad. We’ll be alright. That’s what coffee is for. Right Minnow?” Leaf seemed so confident. She may have been a lot like me, but she did have some of Poppy’s optimism and energy. I was glad she was so confident about everyday stress. “I’m alright too. Just a little cold.” Minnow reassured me, before heading towards the bunker. I walked with them, to make sure they got to the bunker without any trouble.

Once we were in the bunker, I noticed that Poppy had settled everyone in sleeping bags and had almost all of the colony asleep, including our children and grandchildren. I wasn’t surprised, considering she was a mother to thirteen children. She was likely also very tired, since Birch was up several times during the night for feedings. “Looks like we’re camping out for a few hours. You two get some sleep.” I watched them cuddle, before settling down next to Poppy, in a sleeping bag. I closed my eyes, thinking our daughter and son in law were close to being ready. In less than a year, they would be king and queen, and we would be retiring. I looked forward to seeing them take this huge step in life.


	18. Flames Of Inconvenience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch has one of the biggest scares of his life.

For the next four and a half months, I continued training Leaf and Minnow, as they approached their coronation. I couldn’t believe that we were about a half a year away from it. My eldest child and her husband had grown up, and were working so hard to make Poppy and I proud. I had a feeling they were just about ready. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to give up my position, however, I knew our kids were going to be the best thing for our colony. It would also give me more time to help at the medical pod, so that Oak wasn’t doing most of the healing. Especially since he was about to have his own family to care for.

Summer was now in full swing, and as usual, our colony was busy. Between water balloon fights, parties, and inner tube rides, there was always something to do. I always made sure that these activities were being done safely, however, I was over at Oak, Tea, and Maple’s home as often as I could. Oak was five months pregnant, and on bedrest. Tea was still enduring chemotherapy, and was going to be on it for at least another few months, to assure that all of the cancer was gone. Maple was overwhelmed, between taking care of her twins, her brother, and her brother in law. I was glad she was helping them, but I didn’t want her to stress out too much.

What I wasn’t prepared for, was one night, when I suddenly sensed that she was in a lot of pain. I quickly got out of bed, where I had just settled for the night, next to my beautiful wife. I shook her awake, before getting dressed in night shorts as quickly as possible. “Something is wrong with Maple. We’ve got to go.” I didn’t wait for her. I ran outside as fast as I could and widened my eyes when I saw Oak’s flower pod. Half their flower pod was already consumed by flames.

“Fire! Poppy! Spray Oak’s flower pod!” I cried to my wife, before running towards the flower pod as fast as I could. I now could sense that Oak and Tea were also in pain. My heart pounded hard in my chest as I approached the flower pod. By the time I got there, all five of them had made it out of the flower pod alive. I picked up Tea, since Maple had Oak in her arms, and led Maple towards the medical pod. I could hear Carnation and Tulip coughing inside of Maple’s hair. All five of them had smoke inhalation. Oak, Tea, and Maple had varying degrees of burns. I was worried about the twins too, but they didn’t seem to be in that sort of pain.

Once they were in the medical pod, I helped get everyone settled into medical beds. Maple had the most burns, so I tended to her first. I was so glad that I could heal, because she was in horrible shape. I was surprised she was even able to carry Oak. Her hair was singed, and her feet were badly burned from rushing around on burning carpet. It broke my heart, hearing her cry and watching her sign for her twins. I reassured her that her twins were alright. She had recently restored her colors, due to feeling joy from her children. I didn’t want her to fade gray over this. They were saved in time, and were going to be healed with little to no after effects, since I was able to heal scars away.

“Oak’s water broke.” I heard Mama Goldie, as she helped tend to the pregnant father. My heart raced. The triplets weren’t due, but they were viable. “He’s supposed to have a cesarean section.” I reminded Mama Goldie. I didn’t want him to give birth naturally, and risk dying due to the risks he would endure because of his dwarfism.

“He’s in shock, Branch. I can’t perform surgery on him right now.” Mama Goldie warned me, as she worked on stabilizing Oak. She was right, Oak was not in the right condition to go through surgery at the moment. I hoped we could get him stable, before his triplets started to arrive. He was still at risk, if he had to push while in shock. I trembled with worry, as I finished healing Maple. I moved to take care of Tea next, since he was also in shock.

“I’ve got to help.” Oak told us, as he shivered on his hospital bed. I glanced over at him and shook my head. “You’re not doing anything, Oak. You’ve got burns and you’re in shock. We can’t risk you getting worse. Try to refrain healing yourself right now. You might need your energy to push. You’re having your babies soon.” I hoped he would refrain from healing himself anymore then he already had. He was going to be exhausted if he did it. I was trying to heal Tea as fast as I could.

Once Tea was healed, I worked on getting Oak’s burns healed. I could sense that he was in labor. I was shaking as I healed him. I was so glad that the triplets were alive and hadn’t been born yet. If they had been in the fire this premature, they would have certainly perished in the fire. I was so glad that they all got out alive.

Poppy, Leaf, and Minnow had come in, as I finished healing Oak. I explained to them what happened while they were putting the fire out, before moving over to Carnation and Tulip, so that they could be healed as well. I was relieved to see that they weren’t burned, but they did have smoke inhalation. I didn’t want them to feel the discomfort due to it. I watched their worried expressions, as I healed them. I reassured them and told them that everything was going to be alright.

After everyone was healed, I sat down with the twins and took a deep breath. I had used a lot of energy to heal everyone, but I still had enough energy left to heal Oak, if he needed it when his triplets arrived. For now, I decided to cuddle with Maple’s twin girls. They were still freaked out and were clinging to me for comfort. I was glad they were alright. The fire had given us all a huge scare.

As we waited for Oak’s labor to progress, Leaf explained that it was Minnow who had put the fire out. As soon as he realized the flower pod was on fire, he made sure that his brother in laws, and sister in law got out, and then began working the contraption I had shown them just months earlier. I told him I was proud of him. It was at this moment that I knew he was ready, and so was Leaf. They were going to be great leaders when they took over on Midwinter’s day.

It was almost midnight, when Oak was ready to push. I had settled the twins with their mom, and was holding Oak’s hand to help with pain, since he was not tolerating the pain well at all. Tea was holding Oak’s other hand, as the young father endured the hardest part of giving birth. I trembled with worry, as my petite son began to push. I was so worried that he would tear, even though his triplets were nearly a month premature. I startled when Poppy put her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her, expressing my concern all over my face.

“He’ll be alright my love. He’s a strong troll, just like you.” Poppy reassured me with a smile. She reached over and wiped sweat off Oak’s forehead. “You’re doing a great job Oak. You’re about to have the first baby.” I heard her couch our son. I looked down, and saw that the first of the triplets was crowning. The head of the baby seemed impossibly tiny, although this wasn’t the smallest baby I had ever seen. Kiwi had been much tinier.

Mercy was right there as the baby arrived. She had come in to help with the delivery of the triplets, since they were so early. As soon as the first triplet was born, she whisked him away to stimulate him and get him to breathe. I held my breath, as I waited for the baby to cry. I looked worried, because the baby didn’t cry at first.

“Is he alright?!” I heard Oak ask, with pain in his voice. I could sense why he was worried. The baby was so weak, and was struggling. I got up and walked over to help. I didn’t want Oak and Tea’s first baby to die on us. Every baby from this pregnancy was going to be precious, since Tea had been so sick with cancer. As I placed my hand onto the baby’s chest, I watched as he began to let out soft cries. He was fighting, which was a good sign. “The first one is alive. Keep pushing son.” I told him, as I walked over to help deliver the second baby.

“He looks like Tea.” I heard Harper say. She was also there, to watch the delivery of her first grandchildren. I smiled at her words. The baby did look a lot like Tea. “They’re going to make cute kids.” I said, as I helped the bottom half the second triplet come out. “Son, this one is breech. I need you to pant and give small pushes. She’s going to be a little harder to deliver.”

“I’m so tired, dad.” Oak complained, before panting for this baby. “I’ll help you son, but you got to push.” I helped get her out, and then took her away to stimulate her. She looked just like I did, except her tiny nose was olive green and she had Oak’s form of dwarfism. I cleaned her up and rubbed her gently. After several seconds, she began crying in my hands. She was fighting, just like her brother.

“One more, Oak. Get this one out and we’ll let you rest.” Mama Goldie encouraged my exhausted son. I looked at the time, and noticed that the third triplet would not be sharing it’s birthday with its brother and sister. “That last baby will have a different birthday.” I pointed out, as I placed the girl into Tea’s arm. Mercy had just placed the boy in his other arm. I was so glad that he was getting a chance to hold them. I knew this is what Oak had wanted.

“Good job Oak, this one is almost out.” I heard Mama Goldie. I watched as Oak pushed the last baby out. This one was another girl. I walked with Mama Goldie, as she moved her to stimulate her. This one looked like Harper. I helped clean her up and smiled as she began letting out weak cries. “Three premature, but fairly healthy babies. Oak, what are you going to name them?” I asked my son.

“Rooibos, Echinacea, and Chamomile.” I heard Oak name his newborn children. Types of teas, which wasn’t a surprise, considering he loved his husband so much. I smiled at him and nodded. “Strong names, for strong babies. You did a fabulous job, son.” I helped him set the first of the two triplets up to nurse. He had been through a long and hard evening, but he got through it like a trooper. I was a proud father and grandfather. I had three more grandbabies that I was going to get to watch grow. I looked forward to spoiling them, just like I did with the other nine sweet little ones.


	19. Helping Rebuild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch has his family help Oak, Tea, and Maple rebuild.

Not long after Oak’s triplets were born, I found out the cause of the fire. Tea had warmed up water for a cup of tea for Oak, and then forgot to turn off the stove before they went to bed. The guilt ridden father was petrified to tell me what happened, but I could tell that guilt had overwhelmed him into saying something. Although I wished that it didn’t happen in the first place, I reassured the sickly father that I wasn’t upset with him. I could only imagine how he had been feeling on the chemotherapy, and it was sweet that he had made a cup of tea for his husband, who was on bedrest. He had mentioned that Maple had already gone to bed.

Maple was also apologizing, since she didn’t smell the smoke until the kitchen had already been consumed by the fire. I told her that the fire would have spread quickly, since flower pods were made of troll hair. I was just glad everyone got out alive, and that the fire hadn’t spread to other flower pods. The whole situation could have ended badly.

After I assured that Oak, Tea, and Maple were asleep, I took Carnation and Tulip with me to our flower pod. I told Poppy that Maple needed some rest, and I wanted to hold my granddaughters for a little while. The fact that they had breathed in smoke scared me. All five of the fire victims were still coughing, and the babies were at the highest risk. I was also worried about Oak’s triplets, but I felt that the medical pod staff would do their best to help them.

After a restless night of cradling Maple’s twins, I carried them with me to visit my father, Sky. I wanted to go over a plan to rebuild Oak’s flower pod. Almost everything had been destroyed in the fire, so they were going to need a fresh start. I was sad that they had lost so much, but our colony was really good about helping those in need. I wanted to see if he wanted to come down to help. Once at the door, I knocked and waited for an answer.

Mercy answered the door and smiled at me. “What can I do for you, son?” I gave her a hug and smiled at her. “I was wondering if you and dad would like to help us make a flower pod for Oak?” I watched as my dad walked over. I took his great granddaughters out of my hair and gave them to him. “Carnation and Tulip may enjoy some grandpappy time.” I suggested, hoping he would take this time to bond with them. I wanted them to have as much time as they could with their great grandpa. He wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, and I knew his time in our lives would not last forever. I was incapable of making trolls immortal, but I could extend their lives a little longer.

“Hello sweeties…” I watched as Sky held Carnation and Tulip closely. “I’m so glad you’re both alright. I was so worried when I heard what happened.” He looked up at me and nodded. “I’ll be happy to help make them a new flower pod. Let’s gather the family and make sure they have a large flower pod, for both families. They have five babies that will one day need their own rooms.” He told me with a serious look on his face.

“Dad, Maple will eventually find someone to love and move out.” I at least hoped that Maple would one day find someone else to love. I knew she was going to need time to get over what had happened with Indigo. “However, I’m sure Tea and Oak will appreciate having extra rooms. I don’t think they’re going to stop at three. You should have seen the look on their faces when the triplets arrived.”

“Oak needs to recover, and Tea needs to get better, before they have any more kids.” Mercy told us, before leading us towards Basil’s home. “We have a lot of family members to gather. Let’s get going.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Of course mom thought Oak and Tea had enough kids for now, even though she was the one that had helped them conceive the triplets. It was sort of hard to understand her reasoning sometimes, but it was so clear that she loved her entire family. She wouldn’t have done that for Oak if she didn’t care deeply for him.

After everyone who could help was gathered, we worked together to put together a large flower pod for Oak and his growing family. We were able to salvage some of their belongings, and made sure that they had baby clothes for the newborn trollings. I told Satin and Chenille that the baby clothes were going to need to be in varying sizes, since the triplets were premature, and Echinacea was a little smaller in size.

Once the flower pod was made, and filled with everything that Oak, Tea, Maple, and the babies would need, I walked over to the medical pod to get them. Oak was going to need to stay in the medical pod for a week or two, so that his premature triplets needed him for his milk, however, I wanted him to see the new flower pod. It was hard at first to convince him to leave the medical pod, but when I told him that it was only for a few minutes, I managed to pry him away from his newborns. I was proud of him for being so protective of them.

“This better be good, dad. I’m very sore, tired, and the triplets need me.” Oak complained, as we walked towards their new flower pod. I nudged him, when we got closer, and smiled down at him. “Is this good enough to leave for a little bit?” I watched his eyes, as they went wide. I had a feeling he wasn’t expecting this. Especially so soon after the fire.

“Our family worked together, to make sure you got a new home, to raise your family in. I hope you like it, son.” I told him as I led him, Tea, and Maple inside. I showed them around and watched as they checked out the new flower pod. I smiled, when all three of them sandwiched me in a hug. I felt so warm inside, as they snuggled with me and thanked me.

“It’s no problem, you three. I don’t want my children out in the cold, after going through so much. Especially with five little ones to take care of.” I told them, as I cuddled with them. The night before had been horrifying, but the ending result was a happy and healing family that was going to continue to grow and get better. I looked forward to seeing them settle down again. They deserved it, after everything that they had been through.


	20. The Day I Retired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branch’s retirement day comes, which means his daughter takes over.

I was extremely grateful that nothing else happened that summer. I had a lot to prepare for, since Leaf’s coronation and twenty first birthday was coming up fast. I was going to be forty one years old. It was hard to believe that time passed so quickly, however, it wasn’t a surprise either. Poppy and I ended up having thirteen children, and at this point we had twelve grandchildren. I was surprised to find out that Leaf was expecting their eighth baby, but she said this one was planned. I had a feeling she was going to beat me with the amount of children her and Minnow ended up having. I was proud of her for assuring the future of the royal family. I was certain that our future was secured.

Leaf wasn’t the only one who had grown lately. Maple came to her twentieth birthday party, with a young green glitter troll by the name of Emerald. She seemed comfortable with him, and I was a lot happier with him, then I had been with Indigo. He seemed to have her best interests in mind, and was great with Carnation and Tulip. I only wanted the best for my second eldest daughter. She deserved it, after everything she had gone through.

Oak and Tea were doing a lot better as well. Tea was considered cancer free, just months earlier, and was barely a month pregnant, which was a huge shock considering he had just come off of chemotherapy. I chalked it up to the fact that Oak was with him all the time. The young father likely healed his sexual organs, so he was still able to procreate and have babies. I was feeling confident that they would have a bright future ahead of them as well.

After the birthday party, everyone in the colony got ready for the coronation. It was going to be done on the top of our home tree, since there was roughly four inches of snow on the ground. Today, I would be stepping down, and letting Minnow take my place as king. Poppy would be stepping down as well, and would be giving Leaf her place as queen. Once I was dressed, I looked in the mirror, to see myself as king, one last time. I looked at my royal blue hair and face. I hadn’t aged much at all for the last twenty years, and didn’t have a gray hair on my head. I thought perhaps I might be immortal, although I didn’t want to think about that, since everyone else around me was aging as they should. I didn’t want to watch everyone else I loved die, while I lived on. I hoped to one day be put to rest with my beautiful queen. I didn’t want to think of living without her.

“Branch? It’s time to go, grandpa.” Poppy took my hand and led me towards the door. I walked with her, hand in hand. I smiled at everyone, as we passed them. It felt strange to think this would be the last time they would see me as the king of their village. I would still be looked up upon, as a former king and advisor, for the rest of my life, but this was it. I was no longer going to make the final decisions, right alongside Poppy. That was all going to be up to Minnow and Leaf now.

As we approached Minnow and Leaf, I took my place in front of Minnow and looked up at the tall young troll. It was amazing to think that just a few years ago, I scared him into submission. I was now going to be looking up to him, as our king. I was so glad it was him. He was going to be one of the best kings our colony had ever had, for that I was certain. As I looked up at him, I had him kneel down, and removed my leaf crown from my head.

“Prince Minnow, from this day forth, we will see you as King. I place my trust in you and my daughter, Princess Leaf, to take care of the colony, until Prince Shark turns twenty one years old, in just over nineteen years time.” I placed the crown onto Minnow’s head and watched as he stood up. I took his hand and lifted it as high as I could. “I present to you, King Minnow!”

“Princess Leaf, my daughter, I entrust you with my crown, to work with King Minnow, and take care of the colony, until your young son is ready to assume the throne.” I watched as Poppy placed her flower crown onto Leaf’s head. “I present to you, Queen Leaf!” She told the crowd with great enthusiasm. My heart swelled, listening to the crowd as they all cheered with joy.

I let King Minnow’s hand go, and watched as everyone celebrated the coming of a new leadership. I looked forward to watching our colony, as it grew and thrived. I knew with Oak’s help, I would be able to help them all thrive, for many more years to come. I looked forward to also watching the rest of my children grow, and watch as they gave us more grandchildren, and eventually great grandchildren. All of them would give us much grace and love. A love that I looked forward to seeing, until my time came and I would join those that perished before us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the end of part 3 and the end of the series. I hope you enjoyed it!


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